Fine Gael wants ‘penalties’ for those avoiding exit from long-term unemployment
Simon Harris said ‘we need a renewed focus on intensive engagement with the long-term unemployed’.
There will be “penalties” for those who refuse to engage with new measures to tackle long-term unemployment, Fine Gael leader Simon Harris has said.
Mr Harris told his party Ard Fheis conference that it is “simply not acceptable” for anyone to remain on the live register “year after year after year”, adding: “The dole is a safety net, not a way of life.”
The pledge formed part of the Tánaiste’s speech which outlined his vision for the renewal of the Fine Gael party, its blueprint for a unified Ireland, and key priorities for when he is due to become Taoiseach next year under the terms of the coalition agreement with Fianna Fáil.
He had entered the weekend saying there was a need to “sharpen” the party’s identity with a report on its renewal, insisting it was better to do so before a “big electoral hiding”.
Mr Harris identified that there is a “heightened” security risk around the world as evidenced by recent bomb threats against airlines and media organisations in Ireland, adding that the “level of economic risk” also “cannot be underestimated”.
Speaking at University College Cork, he said: “We condemn in the strongest possible terms anyone who would seek to silence our free media.”
On the topic of social welfare, he said supports come with responsibility and that “everyone who can work should be expected to make a contribution”.
He said: “At a time of full employment, it is simply not acceptable for any person to remain on the live register year after year after year.
“That is why we want to see a new ‘pathways to work’ plan, the same kind of activation strategy that was successful in previous Fine Gael governments.”
He added: “We need a renewed focus on intensive engagement with the long-term unemployed — tackling barriers, creating opportunities and getting people into work.
“And let me be clear, for those who refuse to engage, there will be penalties.”
The speech also discusses the introduction of pay-related parent’s benefit so that incomes are “protected while they spend precious time with their newborn child”.
Mr Harris also committed to a new “action plan for jobs” specifically tailored around the “age of AI”.
The Fine Gael leader also said his party would be “demanding bang for your buck” in seeking efficiency and reform in public services
Mr Harris said Ireland was seeing too much “rampant disregard for authority” and “flagrant anti-social behaviour”, describing Fine Gael as “always” being “the party of law and order”.
He told his party: “This has to stop, there must be real consequences.”
He said recreational drug users are “part of the problem” by “fuelling the criminal enterprises making life a misery for so many”.
Mr Harris also called for a “need to maintain a tougher response to illegal immigration” through a national strategy in the coming months.
He said: “When there were tents on the streets of Dublin becoming a serious health and safety risk, I showed how we can act swiftly and decisively.
“We made many significant changes to strengthen our systems and this work continues.”
Mr Harris said Fine Gael was committed to a united Ireland but said this must be “matched by serious preparation, practical proposals and a willingness to engage with people of all traditions on this island”.
The Fine Gael leader also used the speech to take aim at Sinn Féin, who he said had “no credibility” on issues of defence and security as he referenced the Provisional IRA’s use of the official title of the Defence Forces.
“Let no one fall for the Sinn Féin posturing on this issue or their plámás about the Irish Defence Forces.
We know there is only one Óglaigh na hÉireann.
“The party that hijacked that proud title for their own paramilitary wing – for the provos – has no authority, no authority whatsoever.
“The party that scaremongered its way through every European referendum has zero credibility and they haven’t changed – they’re at it again.
“It’s easy to spread cynicism – but it’s insidious.”
He added: “There are people both inside and outside this country who want to spread the idea that this is a failed state. It is anything but.
“They want to poison the discourse, and they want you to believe that politics can’t work.
“Please don’t let them. Never ever let them convince you of that. Push back. Fight back.”
The party also unveiled a new logo and branding at the Ard Fheis.