Minister needs to do her homework on early school leavers [IrishTimes]
- Published: 19 July 2011
ANALYSIS : Is the welfare system really a “lifestyle choice” for early school leavers?
MINISTER FOR Social Protection Joan Burton has stoked up some hot-tempered debate over the past few days by her comments.
Just about everyone agrees living on welfare isn’t good for young people. All research shows that the longer a young person stays on welfare, the poorer their chances are later in life.
But Burton’s suggestion that there’s an element of choice about living on the dole has really raised the temperature of her political opponents.
Her constituency rival Joe Higgins was quick to label this an “arrogant insult” to a generation let down by a Government that was failing to create new jobs.
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