Sir, – After three years and some media attention, Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton has had an epiphany and decided that cleaning positions may not be suitable for JobBridge, despite them appearing on JobBridge.ie for years ("Cleaners in schools 'not best use' of JobBridge, says Burton", September 18th).
What I am disappointed by is how JobBridge has had a detrimental effect on jobseekers with disabilities. It was not until 2012 that most disabled people were given access to the scheme, while vision-impaired people continue to be barred.
The Department of Social Protection will tell you that there are “other schemes” for blind and disabled people, just as there were “other seats on the bus” for black people in the US before the civil rights movement. The positions I am qualified for are not advertised on schemes like the work placement programme or the other schemes “for my kind”. I did not put four years of my life into a degree just so I could go weaving baskets!
Would it not be better for the Minister to put her efforts into giving access to schemes to those who want the experience of work rather than wasting money by forcing people into positions they may not be interested in or suitable for? – Yours, etc,
FRANCIS DUNNE,
Peter O’Donovan Crescent,
Ballincollig, Co Cork.