W2B-020 Poverty-0.txt
Many Dublin streets are named after the trades and workers who set up their homes here more than 1,000 years ago. Consider Tailors Hall, the Linenhall or Weavers Square. Records still exist - 900 years later - of the butchers who sold meat from the Fleshambles. The potter who worked his wheel over 700 years ago is still remembered in Crocker Street as is the tanner in Skinners Row or the smith in Copper Alley.

Seventeen years ago, employment was the norm and not the exception in Kilmount. Almost every family had a working head of household. Suburban trains and buses ferried workers to jobs along the North Wall or Inner City. Many were men who worked in the construction industry, car assembly plants or the small engineering firms that flourished in the early 1970s. Other traditional sources of employment were the haulage and cargo firms along the dockside. Then there were jobs in firms such as Kosangas, Gouldings, Smith and Pearsons, Noyeks or Wigoders. Most of these have closed. Reasons for these job losses are many and the following are just general examples.

The oil embargo of the mid-70s and the resultant recession and spiralling inflation, started the slump still experienced by the Kilmount workforce. Short-time and lay offs became commonplace and workers lost jobs, many never to work again. Imports coupled with changes in production methods caused job losses in the car assembly industry. Changes in technology meant that many skills became obsolete. The printing trade suffered particularly as did the associated industries. Many dockers were made redundant as goods were increasingly shipped by container.

Recession in the construction industry during the early 1970s and 1980s meant many of the men in Kilmount lost their jobs and have never been employed since. Cutbacks in State services in the 1980s led to more job losses. Dublin Corporation and Dublin County Council stopped providing essential repairs to local authority houses and flats. Workers were then laid off.

Kilmount

Some families have succeeded in making the transition from work to unemployment. Their story is one of struggle and huge personal cost. For others, it has resulted in marital breakdown, children leaving home or being put into care. Many women end up relying on tranquillisers in order to cope "when they have nowhere to turn to anymore".

The head of household was employed in just 38 (48%) of the households in our survey, while 42 (52%) were in receipt of welfare payments. Of these, 22 (26%), all male, were receiving unemployment payments. Three of these were in receipt of Unemployment Benefit and the remaining 19 received Unemployment Assistance. The period of unemployment ranged from as little as eight weeks to 15 years. Four of the 22 had been employed as skilled workers in their last jobs (chef, roofer, tiler, painter). Three others had been in semi-skilled work, such as driver or storeman, while the remaining 17 had all been all unskilled workers such as cleaners, labourers and yardmen.

Along with those who are unemployed, there are also ten female heads of households who are lone parents and in receipt of social welfare payments. Since the Social Welfare Code perceives these women as having family responsibilities and thus being unavailable for work, they are excluded from registering as officially unemployed. They are, consequently, also excluded from government-funded training and employment schemes. Also, many married women who gave up their work when they got married are now anxious to return to the workforce. It is difficult for married women or women with children to re-enter the workforce. In addition to the shortage of jobs, a serious lack of creche and childcare facilities prevent women from having access to work.

It is clear that few families in Kilmount have access to secure well paid jobs. Most would form part of the unskilled workforce but are excluded from the workforce altogether. Many are forced into long-term unemployment. The people of Kilmount, for the most part, live in relationships of economic and social dependence. Class inequality in Ireland has become more pronounced over the last 20 years. It seems that present economic arrangements are creating a permanent unemployed class with deepening economic divisions in our society.

Case Study 4: Anne and Noel

Anne and Noel moved to Kilmount in 1973. Before the move they lived in a three-bedroom flat in Ballymun. They had four children at the time and Anne was expecting her fifth. She became pregnant to qualify for a Corporation house. Noel was working as a builders'labourer, work was plentiful and Noel could pick and choose from a variety of jobs.

Anne and Noel were delighted when they were allocated a house by Dublin Corporation. "We joked all the way home about being property owners"." The couple knew that living in a house would be more expensive. Rent would be higher and they would have to buy coal and pay for hot water, unlike the flat in Ballymun where central heating and running hot water were included in the rent. However, they were hopeful about the future. They liked Kilmount and the children quickly settled into their new schools.

The couple were saving for a planned kitchen extension when the "world came tumbling down around our ears"." Noel had been working for a sub contractor, who in turn was working for a building firm. The building firm developed financial difficulties and was unable to pay the subcontractor. Noel's firm folded and his boss left the country owing thousands of pounds.

Noel had trouble tracing his cards and other records which led to difficulties with dole and pay-related benefits. They lived on Supplementary Welfare Allowance for three months while this was being sorted out. But the allowance was insufficient and they "slowly slipped into debt"." Noel continued to look for work but had no luck because of the decline in the construction industry. He has had very little work in the last nine years.

Anne explains: "Things have been very bad these last few years. He doesn't look for work any more. He got very depressed when they told him he was too old for work - can you imagine the effect that has on a many his age? He was 43 at the time"."

Noel worked in the black economy for a short while, as a security guard for £ 1.50 an hour, two or three nights per week. The experience unnerved him because he was afraid that someone would report him to the authorities and the family would lose their social welfare payments. Anne was relieved when he "jacked the job in, the wages were only slave labour anyway, and he wouldn't have a leg to stand on if he was attacked on the job"."

The family is in deep debt now. Being on welfare over a long period of time has meant they have been forced to borrow money from a loan man to pay rent arrears to stave off eviction proceedings. They have also borrowed from a loan company to pay for school expenses for four remaining school children. Their eldest boy has finished second level school and is now looking for work.

Anne feels depressed about the way they live now and her depression is made worse because there is never any money to pay for house repairs and decorations. "The house is in rag order and I can do nothing about it, no matter how hard I work it never looks any better"."

Anne and Noel have been looking at ways to try and resolve their difficulties. One possibility is for Noel and the eldest boy to travel to England. They plan to work on a building site and rent a flat together. They will travel home on alternate weekends throughout the year. Commuting like this is one way of easing the misery for the family who all hate the idea of Noel going.

Anne concluded: "None of us are happy about the family breaking up but it's happening anyway because of the strain. Anything is better than this poverty, hiding from the loan man when I don't have his money and always dreading strange knocks at the door. England might just give the young lad a chance, he's very talented and can do anything with his hands. Noel plans to come home for good as soon as our bills are straightened out. Maybe by that time things will have improved on the job front at home"."

Low Paid Work

For many people the only alternative to unemployment is low-paid work. Semi-skilled or unskilled workers usually receive lower pay than their skilled counterparts and tend to have little security in their jobs. They are more likely to be laid off when work is slack and these interruptions can affect pension rights or any chance of saving. Families on low pay often have a lifestyle that is little different to those who are unemployed and living in poverty.

Working conditions are often harsh. The work, often shift work is menial and repetitive. Low-income workers are ineligible for Supplementary Welfare Allowance payments to help with large household bills, regardless of any crisis or exceptional need that might occur. They are not usually granted a medical card, unless they have an ongoing or serious illness. They are often unable to avail of help with school books and exam fees, because most schools need 'proof' of poverty. Yet even low-paid insecure workers have certain advantages over those who are unemployed.

They are gainfully occupied, they have dignity and a sense of their self worth. Society recognises the value of work. Work is not just about money but also about making a contribution. Workers have a social life outside of family and community. The workless seldom venture outside the area unless it's for rituals connected with social welfare payments. Workers may have entitlements and benefits connected to the job such as a pension fund, savings club, sports and leisure activities or even annual social outings that are work related. Involvement in trade unions allows the members to obtain organising and administrative skills.

Case Study 5: Tom and Vera

Tom and Vera have six children. The eldest child has emigrated to London in search of work. The second eldest left school early, and is now unemployed and waiting to do a FAS course. The remaining four children are still at school. Until recently the family lived on Unemployment Assistance, coupled with Supplementary Welfare payments for fuel allowance, shoe grants and help with ESB bills.

Vera told us of their lifestyle 17 years ago. They moved to Kilmount when the area was "brand new". They had three children at the time. Tom had a secure job in plant maintenance with a firm on the North Wall. The firm pulled out of Ireland during the oil crisis. Tom received a redundancy payment which kept the family going for a couple of years.

After two years of applying for jobs Tom stopped looking for work altogether. According to Vera: "He became moody and depressed. He stopped talking to us. The whole family was affected by his moods"."

Tom panicked when he reached the age of 50. He had been unemployed for nine years and was afraid that he would never work again. Unknown to his wife or family Tom accepted a job as a cleaner. The job paid less money than his social welfare payments and made him ineligible for Supplementary Welfare Allowances. He made a decision to accept a job for little pay because he was anxious to return to the workforce. Tom later explained to his family that he "had packed in the dole because he had to get out of the house before he went mad"." Tom believed that it was easier to get a job if one already had a job. Particularly so for someone of maturing age such as himself. His new wages (after tax and social insurance) worked out at a few pounds less than unemployment assistance. He was more than willing to "pay this price for his dignity"."

Vera wasn't sure if the price was worth it. The family now had less money, no welfare benefits and they had also lost their medical card for a while. It was re-issued later due to exceptional health problems. Neither Vera nor Tom were aware of the Family Income Supplement for those working for a low income. During the interview we told then about FIS and they have since applied for it.
