30 July 2012 Edition
‘No Jobs, No Future, No Way!’
70,000 people, mostly under the age of 30, are emigrating from Ireland each year
SINN FÉIN REPUBLICAN YOUTH has launched its campaign ‘No Jobs, No Future, No Way!’ at the Stormont Assembly to make tackling youth unemployment a key priority for politicians, North and South.
The youngest MLA in the Assembly, 20-year-old Megan Fearon of south Armagh, said: “This is an incredibly difficult time to be young in Ireland. Jobs and emigration are the touchstone issues for young people. It’s painful almost daily hearing of someone losing a job or heading abroad to look for a job. Without a serious youth jobs plan we are in danger of losing a generation of talented young people to emigration.”
Following the initial launch, events were held throughout the country, including a picket of Labour Party headquarters in Dublin. Protesters criticised the Dublin Government’s JobBridge programme as “slave labour” and called for real measures and investment to tackle the ongoing. Public meetings and leaflet drops were also held in Tyrone, Cork, Armagh, Galway, Kilkenny, Portlaoise and elsewhere.
It is estimated that 70,000 people, mostly under the age of 30, are emigrating from Ireland each year. A third of those under the age of 25 are unemployed but Senator Kathryn Reilly says that emigration helps to keep this figure artificially low. “This is an intolerable situation,” said Reilly, “and Republican Youth are organising a campaign to effect change in national policy, North and South, to put the priorities of young people on the political agenda. I call on all young people to get involved and play their part.”
The youngest MLAs in the Assembly, Chris Hazzard (South Down) and Megan Fearon (Newry & Armagh), at the Óige Poblachtach ‘No Jobs, No Future, No Way’ event in Stormont