Is Ireland’s social welfare system not simply seamless but superb!

There were 2,166,700 persons in the labour force the first quarter of 2007 of whom 1,922,400 were Irish nationals. The total labour force in September 2009 was 1,922,400.

Live Register

Citizen of	Jan 2007	Sep 2009	% Change
IRELAND	139,610	346,076	148%
UK	7,545	18,062	139%
EU 15 other than UK and IE	1,517	4,073	168%
EU 15 > 27	4,198	42,675	917%
Other nationalities	5,882	12,709	116%
TOTAL	158,752	423,595	167%

 

Unemployment

Citizen of	Jan 2007	Sep 2009	% Change
IRELAND	76,900	225,200	193%
UK	2,300	9,500	313%
EU 15 other than UK and IE	1,700	2,400	41%
EU 15 > 27	6,100	29,600	385%
Other nationalities	4,800	13,200	175%

 

The number of persons aged 15, or more, who are not economically active, increased by 8,400 in the case of Irish nationals and 39,900 in the case of non-Irish nationals. The estimated population of persons aged 15, or more, declined by 29,200 in the case of Irish nationals but increased by 197,200 in the case of non-Irish nationals between the first quarter of 2007 and the third quarter of 2009. The total estimated population in this age cohort increased by 2.4% to 3,526,500. The consequence of the foregoing is that Irish nationals now account for 88% of the labour force having accounted for 91% before the onset of the recession.

The 2006 Census of Population indicated that there were 420,000 non-Irish nationals living in Ireland in April 2006 who were from 188 countries. The top-10 of these countries accounted for 82% of the total. 20% married persons from the category EU 15 > EU 27 were married but not living with a spouse at the time of the Census.

Profile of non-Irish nationals

· ⅔ of all Chinese were living in the Greater Dublin area compared to 20% of all Latvians, who favoured large and medium sized towns.

· ½ of the UK and ⅓ of all German resident nationals were living in rural locations.

· The number of single persons was highest among the Chinese and French (72% and 73% respectively) while ⅔ of Nigerians and Filipinos were married

· 13% of Latvian females were divorced and 8% of British males were remarried following divorce.

· Polish males had the highest percentage at work (91%) while 20% of Nigerians were unemployed.

· The Lithuanians had the highest percentage at work in the construction sector (32%) while the US had the greatest proportions in the higher socio-economic groups of professionals and managers.

Irish-national population declining

The population of adult non-Irish nationals living in Ireland is increasing. Despite the number of non-Irish nationals on the Live Register increasing from 19,142 in January 2007 to 77,519 in December 2009, the number of non-Irish nationals aged 15 years and over in Ireland increased from 319,800 in the first quarter of 2007 to 433,000 in the third quarter of 2009. The population of adult Irish nationals is decreasing. There was also a reduction of 29% Irish nationals in this age cohort during this period.

Citizen of	Q1 2007	Q3 2009	% Change
IRELAND Employed Unemployed Labour force Not economically active Total population aged 15+	1,845,000     76,900 1,922,400 1,200,300 3,122,700	1,659,000   225,200 1,884,800 1,208,700 3,093,500	-0.94%
UNITED KINGDOM Employment Unemployed Labour Force Not economically active Total population aged 15+	37,800     2,300   40,100   24,900   65,000	44,100   9,500 53,600 36,000 89,600	+37.8%
EU 15 other than UK and IE Employed Unemployed Labour Force Not economically active Total population aged 15+	24,000   1,700 25,700   6,100 31,800	28,200   2,400 30,600   9,200 39,800	+25.1%
EU 15>27 Employed Unemployed Labour Force Not economically active Total population aged 15+	106,300   6,100 112,400   11,700 124,100	122,100   29,600 151,700   30,300 182,000	+ 46.0%
Other nationalities Employed Unemployed Labour Force Not economically active Total population aged 15+	61,300    4,800   66,100   32,800   98,900	68,500   13,200   81,700   39,900 121,600	+22.9%
TOTAL PERSONS, aged 15+	3,442,500	3,526,200	83,700     +2.4%

Are the foregoing trends evidence that, from an international perspective, Ireland’s social welfare offering is especially generous? Has the time arrived for policy makers to adapt it to ensure that it has the capacity to foster self-reliance rather than dependency? Social welfare expenditure will cost €22 billion this year. The social insurance fund, having incurred a deficit of €244.7 million is now reportedly insolvent, possibly to the extent of several billion euro. What steps will be taken to match expenditure with available resources?

Irish immigrant population hit very hard by slump

The Irish Live Register for April 2009 recorded a record of 384,448 individuals, an increase of 188,850, or 97%, since April 2008, according to data from the Central Statistics Office. All immigrant groups have been hit hard but those who immigrated to Ireland from the states that joined the European Union in May 2004 have been hit especially severely.

There are 349,300 non-Irish nationals in the labour force. They comprise 15% of the 2.2 million Irish labour force. The April Live Register includes 77,850 non-Irish nationals – 22% of the total on the Live Register.

Some 44,727 are from those states that joined the EU in May 2004 – Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovakia (collectively known as the Accession states EU15 to EU 27). These immigrants account for a labour force of 167,800, of whom 26.6% are now on the Live Register. They were attracted to Ireland by a minimum wage of €8,65 ($11.57) per hour from 1 July 2007 that is guaranteed under the Irish National Minimum Wage Act 2000. The corresponding figure in the UK is £5.52 (€6.21 or $8.31).

The Live Register is not a direct measure of unemployment. It also includes part-time workers who work up to 3 days each week, seasonal and casual workers eligible for a Job Seekers Allowance or Benefit.

However, overall unemployment in Ireland has also risen sharply from 93,400 in February 2007 to 170,600 November 2008 and 40,500 or these are defined as long-term unemployed. The number of unemployed from the Accession states is 16,900, a rate of over 10% and an increase in the number unemployed of 7,500, of 80% more in twelve months.

It is estimated that 210,000 people from Accession states arrived in Ireland since 2005. Three quarters of those who found work were employed in construction, manufacturing and service sectors, such as retail and hospitality. The total number employed in the public sector, education and health is low in comparison. The largest immigrant cohort is from Poland, but there are significant numbers from Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic and Estonia. Lithuania and Latvia are currently recording the highest levels of unemployment in the EU. Unemployment in Lithuania increased from 4.3% to 15.5% in the 12-months to 30 April 2009 while unemployment in Latvia increased from 6.1% to 16.1% over the same period. Unemployment levels in Poland has remained relatively stable moving from 7.4% to 7.7%.

This group comprise people predominantly aged in their twenties and thirties and tend to be male with the gender disparity most pronounced among the younger age group. There are relatively few children, or elderly people, among this immigrant group. Despite their relative youth, 42% are married compared to the 46% marriage rate of the native Irish. But almost 20% of the married non-nationals are not living in Ireland with their spouses. Their spouses have typically remained in their native land and this replicates the emigration pattern from Ireland over the decades before economic self-sufficiency. The majority of the immigrants from the Accession states have a secondary school education and slightly over a quarter have a third-level qualification.

The largest decline in employment in Ireland has been in the construction sector and the professions that serve it –(- 45,900) jobs lost in one year. But there have also been significant job losses in wholesale and retail (-18,200), financial and business services (-11,600), hotels and restaurants (-10,500).

Non-Irish nationals are obliged to be habitually resident in Ireland to qualify for social assistance payments in Ireland. The term ‘habitually resident’ is not defined by either Irish or EU law. However, it is intended to convey a degree of permanence – a regular physical presence enduring for some time beginning at a time usually in the past and intended to continue for a period into the foreseeable future. Length and continuity of residence are vital considerations

Non-Irish nationals resident in Ireland can qualify for social insurance payments (e.g. state pension, jobseekers benefit), means tested payments (e.g. jobseekers allowance) and universal payments (e.g. child benefit). 300 extra staff have been transferred from within the civil service to the Department of Social & Family Affairs to deal with the extra welfare claims.

Research published by the Economic and Social Research Institute indicate that non-Irish nationals are facing discrimination when responding to job advertisements with similar creden tials as an Irish native.