The latest unemployment figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the jobless total has fallen to its lowest level in over seven years. The seasonally-adjusted unemployment figure is now 234,000, down about 27,000 in the past year. The unemployment rate, at 9.4 per cent, is lower than the EU average of over 10 per cent - a remarkable turnaround since the situation five years ago when the Republic had the second highest jobless level. Youth unemployment is also at its lowest level in fifteen years.
The Government has, not surprisingly, greeted the new figures with some enthusiasm. The Minister for Social Welfare, Mr Dermot Ahern, sees the figures as impressive evidence of how Government initiatives - especially those targeting the long-term unemployed - are having a real impact.
Against this background, Opposition criticism that the unemployment issue is not being given due priority by the Government may seem mean-spirited. The figures are impressive but the political charge that the level of unemployment remains out of kilter with the very robust state of the economy, has some merit.
The question is not whether unemployment is declining, but why it has not declined still more rapidly. The comparison drawn by the Democratic Left leader, Mr Proinsias De Rossa, is worthy of consideration; unemployment has declined by just 3 per cent in the first three months of this year, a period which has seen an increase of some 15 per cent in the Government's revenues from taxation. A national unemployment rate of over 9 per cent is unacceptable in an economy which is enjoying such a sustained level of growth.
More than any administration in the past, this Government has the financial muscle to address the unemployment problem in a comprehensive way. The latest Exchequer returns show that tax revenue is set to be £500 million higher than budgeted for; the Government ran a £82 million surplus of revenue over spending for the first three months of the year, compared to a Budget projection of an £89 million deficit.
The Government deserves credit for its record on unemployment but there is still much than can be done, especially in relation to the manner in which the taxation and social welfare systems interact. There is a strong case for a more radical, pro-active approach; the welfare-to-work approach favoured by the British chancellor, Mr Gordon Brown, in his recent Budget is worthy of serious consideration in this State. A more concerted move to break the cycle of dependency, so evident among the marginalised in our towns and cities, is clearly required.
