Everyone must look to national interest this Christmas

Shocking Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures from last week underline just how much the Irish economy has deteriorated in the past few months. People seeking unemployment assistance now number 252,000, or 6.7 per cent of the workforce. That equates to 100,000 more people without work compared to this time last year, or 2,000 jobs a week being lost during the past 12 months. 'Calamitous' is how the figures have been described by the small business lobby group, ISME, and it is not hard to disagree with them. An analysis of local unemployment figures on our business page this week also points up what plummeting economic activity has meant for jobs in this county. Those who remember the 1980s recall it as a time when there was record unemployment and mass emigration, but the numbers signing on at the three main social welfare offices in Meath are even greater now than they were then. Partly, this can be explained by the dramatic population changes in Meath in the interim years and the near doubling of the number of jobs in the past 20 years, but the figures still make for uncomfortable reading. Compared to 1989 when 3,390 people were unemployed in Navan, Trim and Kells, today the number signing on at the same three exchanges is almost 6,000. However, it is the speed with which this change has come about that is the most alarming. Underscoring the rapid slide in economic activity is not just the fact that there have been wholesale job losses in the construction sector due to the house price slump and the credit crunch, but also among the professional classes where the anecdotal evidence is that architects and solicitors are also finding themselves facing the dole queue after helping to power the Celtic Tiger during its halcyon days, as a result of the downturn. Clearly, urgent action is required to try and staunch the flow of workers onto the dole queues as cash-starved businesses shed jobs in a desperate bid to keep their heads above water. Plunging consumer confidence coupled with a lack of bank credit and rising costs are creating real difficulties for many Irish businesses in an economy that is already is recession. We, as a country, cannot countenance a return to the 1980s where we saw 300,000+ people on the dole. Such a massive increase in the numbers who find themselves out of a job would greatly add to our economic difficulties as the Government loses out on valuable tax revenue and faces considerable additional social welfare costs. After sleepwalking into this recession, the Government failed to deliver initiatives of any great substance in its recent budget to tackle unemployment or restore Ireland"s competitiveness. There are things it can do, though, such as suspend the national pay deal and refuse to sanction planned increases in electricity and gas bills. It must also continue its investment programme in infrastructure such as road and rail projects and put a major focus on retraining those out of work and on new work experience or community employment schemes. On another level, we ourselves can also do a great deal in the national interest by shopping locally this Christmas. Buying Irish can help secure thousands of jobs and the future of Irish producers and manufacturers. It has been a very difficult year for most Irish businesses, big and small, but consumers will still spend up to €4.7 billion in the run-up to Christmas this year. All Irish consumers should give some thought to what they buy this year and do their bit to help support and secure jobs at a time when such patriotism is badly needed.