Almost 200 People In North Tipp Join Dole In December

Dole Queue

Latest CSO figures revealing an additional 188 people joined the dole queue in North Tipperary over the month of December. This is a rise of 3% from 6,385 to 6,573.

Over the month of December, Nenagh’s local office saw the largest jump with 96 extra people signing on. The corresponding figure in Roscrea was 55 and in Thurles the number was 37.

North Tipperary has experienced a 189% increase in the number of people under-25 signing on in the last two years. This percentage represents an additional 884 people. Thurles fared the worst over the same time period with an extra 368 joining the dole, in Nenagh the figure was slightly less at 345 and in Roscrea the number was 171.

The Fine Gael TD Deputy Noel Coonan stated:

“Unemployment jumped by a whopping 52% over the last year alone in North Tipperary. An additional 2,239 people signed on between December 2008 and December 2009. These figures are astounding and a very real sign of this Government’s gross incompetence. Nenagh fared with worst with a 57% increase over the same period. There was a 51% increase in Roscrea and 47% rise in Thurles. Unemployment rate has reached a 14 year high and nationally there are 426,700 people signing on the live register, the highest number in history. It’s clear the Government is more interested in saving banks than getting people back to work. The recent Budget is proof of this with a strong absence of any comprehensive jobs strategy.”

Fine Gael believes the Government should immediately introduce a Job Creation and Job Retention package. This should include:

1. An across-the-board cut in the Jobs Tax (employers’ PRSI) to stimulate job creation;

2. An aggressive programme to reduce the high cost of doing business and restore competitiveness;

3. The provision of 30,000 education and training places for the young unemployed through a National Internship Programme and second-chance education;

4. Introducing a Workshare scheme in industry to enable employers to keep more people in employment on a part-time basis;

5. Adopting Fine Gael’s NewERA plan to invest €18 billion in infrastructure by re-tooling the semi-States and making them engines for growth.