A Young Jobseeker Reacts To Budget 2017

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Minister for Finance Michael Noonan and Minister for Social Expenditure Paschal Donohoe discussing Budget 2017 at government buildings on Tuesday; James Larkin

So, about that budget.

James Larkin (no relation) writes:

An Open Letter from a Young Jobseeker to the Government

All weekly social welfare payments … will rise by €5 per week” –

Paschal Donohoe

That’s not true Paschal. Those aged 18-24 are only getting an increase of €2.70 per week, bringing our total to €102.70 while those aged 26 and over are getting a €5 increase bringing them up to €193 per week. Why this discrimination Mr. Donohoe?

There are lots of jobs available, I want them [young people] to take them up” –

Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar

Surely you also want the over 25s to take them up too Leo? I don’t understand why we’re different? I’m an unemployed young person. I’ve got an undergraduate degree from Trinity College, a Master’s from University College London, and experience in my field.

I’ve been granted one job interview in the last 2 months despite myriad job applications.

Where are these jobs you’re talking about Mr. Varadkar? Because at the moment I really need one of them. At the moment I’m living in Dublin because it’s where all of these alleged jobs are on offer. Dublin… where rents are sky high, Dublin… where you’ve got to take our expensive public transport to get to your one job interview in the last two months, Dublin… where I’m given €102.70 a week and told I should be able to live on it.

Jobseeker’s allowance is there to help us look for jobs, to feed us, to have some semblance of a happy existence. Mr. Varadkar, why do you want to hinder me and not help me?

Any unemployed young person who takes on a training course or an education course will get the full amount” –

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan

It’s all starting to get a bit mad now Mr. Noonan. I’ve got a degree in maths and psychology and a Master’s of Science and you want me to get more education. I’ve got plenty of education Mr. Noonan, some might say I have too much. I don’t need more education, what I need is the support to find a job.

The question I find myself answering now is, why am I still here? My family is here, my girlfriend is here, my friends are here… for God’s sake, Ireland is my home, Mullingar is my home, Dublin is my home. I want to stay and contribute to society. I don’t want to have to emigrate.

I just need a little more money to help me look for the right job. I promise that if you help me out for the next little while I’ll pay it all back and more when I’ve a job.

Being a young jobseeker in Ireland isn’t sustainable at the moment. It’s getting to the point where it feels like I’ve no other choice but to leave my home behind and seek work abroad.

Does that seem fair to you Mr. Noonan?

Yesterday: A Young Person Reacts To Budget 2017

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62 thoughts on “A Young Jobseeker Reacts To Budget 2017

      1. Boy M5

        But who will clean your home, wash your car or serve your greedy face a kebab on Baggot street at 3am if there are no poor people left?

  1. Anomanomanom

    Very well stated and I agree with how pathetic the payments are. But id wonder, even with his qualifications, did he apply to every where that had vacancy. I know of supermarkets looking for people and other shops of this type. It might seem like a step down but it’s better than not working and it seems its easier to get a job when your already in one.

      1. Harry Molloy

        I worked in a call centre for 18k after the crash and my profession became completely over subscribed. That opened a door elsewhere and I climbed my way up to a decent spot now.

        No one’s too good for anything.

    1. 15 cents

      if someone has worked hard getting a qualification, paid the college bills and huge expenses involved .. they should be afforded an opportunity. not to come out the other side for someone to remark “suppose the supermarkets to good for ya then?”

      1. Andy

        So the government should guarantee every college graduate a job. A job to be just sitting there waiting for them when the leave college.

        There’s a c. 8% unemployment rate (nearly 2mm people working).
        This lad has a degree & a masters and apparently some experience.
        If he can’t find a job then he should have a good long hard look at himself in the mirror.
        Are 92% (2mm people) of the labor force superior to him? Perhaps they are.

        Either way, having an old whinge on broadsheet will surely do your career prospects a lot of good.

    2. Lorcan Nagle

      Between my first two IT jobs I applied for literally everything I could, and a Centra gave me an interview. They told me that their biggest concern was that as soon as something in my career of choice came along I’d leave. And to be fair, that was 100% true. It’s not quite so easy as going into a McDonalds and saying giz a job, because they don’t want highly trained professional types skipping out three months later.

  2. scottser

    i only found out recently that the reduced rate for under 25s was not just for those who have never worked or undergone training – i thought you got the full rate on completion of further training or work. i actually can’t see any rationale or incentive in paying the same benefit to a college graduate and to a young person who never even bothered to make themselves employable. same as there’s no sense in paying new gardai, nurses and teachers the same for 35 hours a week in tesco.
    still, young people now are learning early and often not to trust government to protect their interests. welcome to the club..

  3. Gers

    Yo James, how about you do like everyone else clever enough and make your own way? I started to work at 17 in poo-y jobs, way below my qualifications, slowly got to where i wanted to be now. Start small, get bigger later. What do you think life is, a giant box of Quality street?

    1. Boy M5

      “I started to work at 17 in poo-y jobs, way below my qualifications”

      What, like way below your Junior Cert?

      1. Gers

        Level A in Industrial tech. France. I followed by a year in Univ and went back to low jobs for another 2-3 years.

        1. Atilla De Hun

          Well done mate, your an inspiration to us all. For a 17 year old to work in a “poo-y” job is very remarkable in any society.. oh wait.

          And who de f*&k likes Quality street anyways.

    2. Ribeard

      This might be difficult for you to comprehend but people my (and James’) age were raised during the Celtic tiger years. We were brought up under strict instruction from our parents that the most important thing was to study hard, go to college and get a good degree, and that the good job would follow. At every point along the way we were told by parents, peers, guidance counselors that the grades and the degree were the road to landing a good job, and sure look, Ireland was booming and everyone was loaded! That could be us!

      We then got our degrees (in good, REAL fields, not all of them were wishy washy bullshit) and found that the country was, quite frankly, fucked. Those same people who told us to pursue the degree were now scratching their heads and saying “ehhhhh, sorry, nothing here for you, you can work in McDonalds or piss off to Australia”.

      I can appreciate where you came from. Working your way up the ladder from the age of 17 is impressive and kudos to you for reaching where you wanted to be. You should acknowledge though, what you did was presented to us our whole lives as being a cautionary tale – “work hard or you won’t get into college and you’ll have a shit job”. It may seem naive in retrospect but if you work your whole life towards a goal which you are driven towards by every figure in authority, only to be told that through no fault of your own that that goal is now effectively a pipe dream, it’s normal to feel at least a LITTLE hard done by.

      1. Gers

        Was told the exact same thing you did. I however quickly realised thats the way it works. For those waiting for hand out, dont. It wont come or it will be too late.

        1. Nigel

          There is no problem so challenging, nasty or intractable that can’t be solved by somebody asserting their superiority over you by telling you they never went looking for handouts.

          1. Rob_G

            There’s not better way for a highly-qualified and (I presume) able-bodied individual to find a position in the competitive jobs market than writing self-pitying diatribes on the Internet.

          2. Nigel

            No better way to give people a chance to tell them that not only do they not care about their difficulties, they hold nothing but contempt for them when they try to talk about their difficulties. Wow, just as I was getting all nostalgic for those old Irish attitudes to mental health of about ten minutes ago, which this faintly resembles.

          3. Rob_G

            Sure, we could all sit round and have a sob and tell James how hard done by he is – but that is hardly going to get him a job.

            James seems to have some degree of knowledge of the options open to him ( “… you can work in McDonalds or piss off to Australia”); he seems to have lived abroad already as part of his studies, so it should be no bother to him.

            With a degree in maths, he could work in finance – Frankfurt, Singapore – loads of jobs in both places. Or he could teach English in Abu Dhabi.

            Or stay in Dublin, and wait to be headhunted for his dream job…

      2. Andy

        “Work your whole life towards a goal”??? People finish college at between the ages of 21 and 25.

        Get a grip.

        You’re part of the largest single labor market in the world. Head to the UK or somewhere else to get a job. Christ, do they not teach kids how to do stuff for themselves anymore?

        1. Nigel

          No. We just snap their feckin’ heads off of they open their mouths to do anything other take your feckin’ order.

        2. Dόn Pídgéόní

          With the ructions and uncertainties of Brexit, I wouldn’t rely on the UK to some Irish problems for much longer.

  4. Jimmee

    “I just need a little more money to help me look for the right job.”

    You were able to afford to do two college degrees but now you’re complaining because the free money you’re getting from other tax payers isn’t enough to cover the cost of your bus or taxi fare travelling to job interviews.

    Do you think we came down in the last shower?

  5. Steve

    Kind of gives the impression that if there was an extra 2.30 per week everything would have been alright.

    It’s tough sending out CVs and getting rejected or PFO letters. You have some mighty qualifications James, fair play. Not trying to sound patronising But perhaps you need to do a bit of interview training. This stuff actually works. Doing interviews are a skill in themselves.

    But you say you aren’t even getting interviews, perhaps you’re pitching the CV at a wrong level – maybe you’re going too high mate . Lots of consultancy firms look for people with Maths qualifications, apparently shows Critical thinking , fire in a few CVs to their entry / grad level positions.

    Good luck

    1. Boy M5

      “Maths qualifications, apparently shows Critical thinking”

      LOL.

      You are right though, CV and interview training might not be a bad idea here.

    2. Dόn Pídgéόní

      It really depends where he is looking. Maths and psychology in academia or third sector – not a chance in Ireland. Not much of a chance in the UK either sadly. I would agree on jigging the CV – if it’s not needed for the job, don’t mention higher qualifications. Employers won’t take you if they think you’ll leave a few months.

  6. Jake38

    Would providing MORE money for a SHORTER defined period of time help people like this gentleman? Any thoughts?

    1. ahjayzis

      I’ve always been in favour of systems where if you lose your job, for the first while of unemployment the benefit should reflect your salary levels. So you don’t default on all your obligations because you were a few months between jobs like.

          1. Andy

            Wasn’t Ramon Domenech (SP) getting a million or so from the French dole when he get sacked as the French manager.

  7. 15 cents

    if there’s one demographic this government and every previous government dont care about .. its young people.

    irelands biggest export; people

    1. Rob_G

      That’s true… though young people return the favour by not caring about the business of govt.

      In a toss-up between screwing over pensioners and screwing over young people, a govt will choose young people every single time because young people just don’t bother voting.

    1. ironcorona

      Sorry, you said what your degrees are in.

      So what experience do you have and what kind of jobs are you going for?

  8. Rob_G

    “I’ve got a degree in maths and psychology and a Master’s of Science”

    – surely there are roles in tech that would suit you?

    It’s hard when you are out of work, but there you are with bachelor and a masters, while people much less-qualified and with a minimal grasp of English seem to to manage to find work.

    Maybe pitch your sights a bit lower for the timebeing; at least then you will be looking for a job in your field with a bit more ready-cash every week.

      1. Rob_G

        No (can’t imagine how you managed to take that interpretation, tbh) – merely suggesting that it might be a bit easier to find a job than our author is implying. It might not be his ideal job, but very few people are lucky enough to land their ideal job straight out of college.

    1. Andy

      Saying I’ve got a Master’s of Science is the same as saying I’ve a degree.

      You can get an MSc in almost anything – advertising, marketing, guidance counselling, computer games.

  9. Daisy Chainsaw

    Your degrees currently qualify you for €102.70 a week, maybe you need to lower your expectations of what the world owes you a bit. Register with publicjobs.ie, the gardai are looking for recruits, some supermarket chains are looking for assistants and managers. FAS, or what ever they call themselves these days, used to do courses for post grads – maybe check those out. Having a masters doesn’t exempt you from serving behind a counter.

  10. jimmy russell

    “entitled nu-male wont work a minimum wage job to tide himself by”

    my heart fupping bleeds

  11. Darren

    There isn’t enough jobs for people, that’s a fact. However to be perfectly honest if this young jobseeker has the qualifications he/she claims to have then I find it almost impossible to believe they can not find a job.

  12. kellma

    If you have a maths degree have you tried looking at trainee actuarial positions? A lot of insurance companies are finding it hard to get actuarial trainees…

    1. Weldoninhio

      Didn’t you read his “article”, he’s not looking for just any job, he’s looking for “more money to help me look for the right job”. Generation Snowflake summed up in one article.

  13. Poordessie

    Life is tough..get over it. If you don’t you will get depression as you will be constantly disapointed. You deserve nothing go out and get it and stop whinging.

  14. Baffled

    If he’s only been called for one interview after applying for a “myriad” of jobs, then I suggest that the first problem lies in how he has set out his CV and/or cover letter.

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