- ESRI report bursts justification for PUP cuts
- Rather than Garda PUP check-points, we need to invest in green jobs and raise the minimum wage
People Before Profit Social Welfare and Employment Rights spokesperson Paul Murphy TD today called for the government to reverse their decision to cut the PUP from September, following the publication of an ESRI report today which disputed the claim that the PUP was a disincentive to employment.
He said: “The ESRI report refutes the false justifications used by corporate lobbyists and the government in pushing for the PUP cut. For months we’ve had to listen to millionaire employers call for cuts to the PUP, claiming it was too high and meant workers were better off on the PUP. This report exposes that as nothing other than self-serving spin.
“The report also highlights the major cliff-edge facing students who usually rely on part-time work to pay their way through education. Many of these will be simply unable to get work this autumn, yet the government wants to take them off the supports that they have. This could leave many with no choice but to drop out because they simply can’t afford the costs of education.”
News also emerged today that Garda are running PUP & social welfare check-points, checking social welfare entitlements of those on the roads. In response Paul Murphy TD said:
“Cutting the PUP, and trying to intimidate or shame those still on it will not do anything to actually create jobs, and help people go back to work. Instead what we need is serious public investment to create decent, green jobs to rebuild our economy and society with a socialist Green New Deal. As part of that, we should be raising the minimum wage to a living wage for all workers, and increasing the floor of social welfare to €350 for those who need it.”
