Across Europe it is the sick the old and especially the young that
are being forced to pay for the economic crisis. In Spain and Greece
youth unemployment stands at over 50%. In Ireland although that figure
is somewhat lower at 17.9% but this still means nearly 1 in 5 youth are
workless.
Across Europe it is the sick the old and especially the young that
are being forced to pay for the economic crisis. In Spain and Greece
youth unemployment stands at over 50%. In Ireland although that figure
is somewhat lower at 17.9% but this still means nearly 1 in 5 youth are
workless and the statistic covers up the distressing reality that we
face; in particular, ongoing attacks to education and the lack of work
in Ireland that have led to many young people turning to migration. If
people emigrate they don’t show up on the figures.
The 2012 budget saw a €132.3m cut to the overall state education
budget. This means that Ireland is one of only 3 EU countries to have
reduced overall education spending this financial year. A European
Commission report suggests this will lead to Ireland failing to meet its
target to reduce early school leavers to 10%. <http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/eu-education-cuts-undermine-potential-183166.html> When the Troika itself is warning over the extent of austerity measures there must be cause for concern!
As well as constituting an attack on the public sector and education
these cuts have particularly hit schemes which were meant to create jobs
and skills needed for employment. Apprenticeship schemes have been cut
by €19 million whilst schemes for the ‘disadvantaged’ have been cut by €
6.5 million. This is tantamount to leaving the worst off on the
scrapheap.
In addition to this the cost of studying at university has risen
massively over the last few years. Registration fees at Irish
universities have risen from an average of €850 to €2,250 between 2008-9
and 2012-3, and could rise to €3,000 by 2015. Students must bear in
mind the situation in Britain where outside of Scotland fees have
rocketed, university education has gone from being free in the late
1990s to now standing at up to £9,000 per year. The IMF is demanding
further cuts to education and in particularly that the cost of paying it
be shifted from the state onto students with its latest report on
Ireland claiming that, “Deeper reforms in health and higher education are needed to identify service priorities and deliver them efficiently.” <http://ireland.marxist.com/ireland/politics/8512-the-imf-report-reading-the-small-print>
All this only reads like turning insult into injury when considering
the situation facing the youth, including many university graduates. A
degree is far from a guarantee of a ‘graduate job’, and especially not
of one in Ireland. The research firm Trendence recently polled 6,000
Irish university students and found that 27% intended to leave the
country in order to find employment upon graduation. In 2011 alone over
76,400 people migrated from Ireland, mostly young people looking for
work. As the international economy continues to struggle and even
China’s growth begins to slow even this option may become less secure.
Many young workers have migrated to Australia which has experienced a
boom from selling raw material to China.
We did not create this situation, we didn’t make this crisis but we
are being forced to pay for it. Many of us are being forced to leave and
we all face the hardships of a tightened labour market, and the threat
of unemployment or paying more for education. Unsurprisingly youth have
been at the forefront of protest and resistance to the international
crisis from the Arab revolutions to Spain to Greece and of course in
Ireland. This was seen both during the major public sector disputes and
demonstrations in 2009 as well as the student mobilisations against the
austerity measures in the 2012 budget. It is quite clear that under
capitalism many young people are literally being forced out of the
country. Only through socialism, under an economy based on the
democratic and public planning of the economy in the interests of the
people rather than the profit interests of failed bankers can this
situation be reversed. Fightback supports the immediate introduction of
free education, a program of public works to provide employment for all
and to make use the skills of young people, and a €12.50 per hour
minimum wage.
