Seán Crowe to seek action on apprenticeships from South Dublin County Coucil

Sinn Féin Councillor Seán Crowe is seeking to have South Dublin County Council (SDCC) include a social clause in all local authority and public sector construction, service and procurement contracts requiring the hiring of a set number of apprentices and young unemployed people. This initiative is based on the model introduced by the Sinn Féin Minister for Regional Development Conor Murphy MLA in the Six Counties. Crowe is also calling on SDCC to implement a similar scheme to the one introduced by Dublin City Council last week, which launched a work placement scheme for apprentices laid-off since the start of the recession.

Crowe said: “In our youth unemployment document ‘No job? No future? No way!’ launched earlier this year, Sinn Féin called for action to be taken by local councils on apprentices, following the success of a scheme in the Six Counties where this has become a priority issue for Minister Conor Murphy.

“I have been particularly keen to deal with the issues of unfinished apprenticeships because so many of them live here in Dublin South West. I have called on the government to take the same approach to helping apprentices as they did in Scotland, where a £9.1 million investment was directed to fund 5,000 apprenticeships.

“This scheme would be particularly suitable in unemployment black spots such as Tallaght which has more than 2,600 people under 25 currently unemployed.

“I believe these two steps by SDCC – including a social clause on all contracts and arranging for work placement with the council – could add to tackling the waste that currently exists with unfinished apprenticeships. Youth unemployment is something I believe should be prioritised. Having seen communities ripped apart by unemployment and emigration in the ‘80s I feel we should do everything in our power now to make sure we do not lose another generation of young people and I will be pushing SDCC to take these actions.”