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Unemployed 60 year old Irishman told to take job in Malta
| Published: | 28 Mar at 6 PM |
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A 60-year old unemployed Donegal man who used to work as a bus driver has received an official letter recommending that he emigrate to Malta and take up a low-waged job.
It seems the rot is spreading from the now defunct UK Border Agency to Irish government employees, although the letter caused hilarity when read out in the Irish parliament. Sent by Ireland’s oddly-named Department of Social Protection, the carefully worded missive informed its recipient that a job as a bus driver paying €250 a week had become available on the island of Malta, some 3,700kms from Donegal.
The letter continued that, although the salary offered was less than its Irish equivalent, levels of income tax are some of the lowest in the EU and the typically Mediterranean climate was another benefit. It ended by advising the former bus driver to forward his CV to the FAS National Training and Employment Agency.
When the laughter in the chamber had died down, Pearse Doherty, Sinn Fein member for the driver’s Donegal constituency, stated his country was now at a new low. A 60-year old, he continued, receives an official letter advising him to travel at his own expense to Malta and take a low-paying job, then suggests he’ll get a tan as a bonus.
Doherty stressed that the man was unemployed and struggling to pay his mortgage, adding that although it’s laughable, it’s also very sad. Perhaps, he said, the government would be better attempting to deal with the soaring unemployment causing the mortgage crisis rather than making itself look foolish.
It seems the rot is spreading from the now defunct UK Border Agency to Irish government employees, although the letter caused hilarity when read out in the Irish parliament. Sent by Ireland’s oddly-named Department of Social Protection, the carefully worded missive informed its recipient that a job as a bus driver paying €250 a week had become available on the island of Malta, some 3,700kms from Donegal.
The letter continued that, although the salary offered was less than its Irish equivalent, levels of income tax are some of the lowest in the EU and the typically Mediterranean climate was another benefit. It ended by advising the former bus driver to forward his CV to the FAS National Training and Employment Agency.
When the laughter in the chamber had died down, Pearse Doherty, Sinn Fein member for the driver’s Donegal constituency, stated his country was now at a new low. A 60-year old, he continued, receives an official letter advising him to travel at his own expense to Malta and take a low-paying job, then suggests he’ll get a tan as a bonus.
Doherty stressed that the man was unemployed and struggling to pay his mortgage, adding that although it’s laughable, it’s also very sad. Perhaps, he said, the government would be better attempting to deal with the soaring unemployment causing the mortgage crisis rather than making itself look foolish.
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