Dublin South West Sinn Féin TD, Seán Crowe, has called for an urgent Government response to the impact of austerity on younger people and children.

Crowe made the call after the publication of two new reports, by the Economic Social Research Institute (ESRI) and the National Economic and Social Council (NESC), which detailed the social impact of austerity, especially on under 45s.

Deputy Seán Crowe said:

“Today two very important reports were released. The ESRI released a study of the impact of the economic crisis on younger and older people. The NESC released a detailed report on the social dimension of the economic crisis.

“The detail of these two documents makes for very depressing reading. They provide further evidence of the devastating impact austerity is having on people and particularly those under 45 and their children.

“The reports show that the financial crisis has affected younger households much more than older ones.

“The newly released data also shows that unemployment, arrears, and negative equity affect younger households more than older households, causing their consumption to decline rapidly. The ESRI describes the decline in consumption by young households as large, both by international standards, and historically.

“Two explanations are provided for this – firstly that young households may not be able to access loans or have earlier savings that help them maintain consumption when income temporarily decreases.

“Second, they may build up savings in anticipation of future problems in accessing credit and of course we know only too well that Banks have been more than reluctant to lend to households in arrears and those affected by unemployment.

“This cash spend shortage is also impacting on the local economy and inevitably is leading to more and more local jobs losses.

“Given the importance of these two reports and the issues they explore I am calling on the Government to urgently respond to these reports and begin addressing the key findings that highlight the bald facts that austerity is not working, particularly but not exclusively, for those under 45 years of age”.

ENDS