Student Summer Scheme cancelled

sceptre

Hmmm, not sure if this is new news (the Indo doesn't seem to put dates on its Net stories so this may or may not be in today's paper)

Senator slams axing of student jobs scheme


THE decision of the Government to axe the student summer jobs scheme has been condemned as "deplorable" by Fine Gael senator Jim Higgins.

He said he discovered the information after ringing the relevant section of the Department of Social and Family Affairs to inquire about application forms for the Summer 2003 Scheme only to be told it was not going ahead this year.

An angry Senator Higgins protested: "At a time when employment is growing and the economy on a down-turn it will inevitably mean that fewer alternative job opportunities will be available to students this summer. The Government is becoming more ruthless and Thatcherite by the day."

Now as I recall the scheme was introduced to replace the payment of dole (which varied depending on the income of the parents - some ended up better off, some ended up worse off when the scheme was first introduced). The odds of the government returning the system to that in operation previous to the introduction of the scheme are presumably somewhere between "none" and "are you bleedin kidding me". People replying to this post with comments like "sure the students have it too easy anyway" would do well to remember that this was originally introduced as a money-saving exercise back in 1992 and that it isn't free money - it's payment for 200 hours of work for approved organisations.

You know who to blame - and you know who to contact if you feel a little aggrieved*.


in case you don't and you feel like complaining you could start with:
Ms. Mary Coughlan
Minister for Social and Family Affairs,
Floor 3, Áras Mhic Dhiarmada,
Store St., Dublin 1
email odeburca@ealga.ie (don't ask, I don't know) and mary.coughlan@oireachtas.irlgov.ie
Phone: 073 36002 (home/home office)
01 6183393(er, work)
Fax: 073 36333 & 01 6620160

It doesn't actually affect me (even with my student status confirmed till at least 2006) - call it a public student welfare announcement - but if anyone who is affected feels like organising any kind of "what are you idiots doing now" mailshot/protest, feel free to drop me a line and we'll see what we can do. If it does affect you or you were planning on taking part in the scheme, I'd advise you to contact your local TDs and the Minister (at least by email or phone but preferably by letter at least - they don't seem to pay that much attention to emails from what I've been told)

domeara01

well thats typical of the government.
you cant draw the dole yet they are too lazy to provide you with a job in the summer to stop you from drawing the dole. aristrocratic people. i could have sworn but i did not.