Maman Poulet | Clucking away crookedly through media, politics and life

Need a new website designed? Get an intern

August 18th, 2011 · Irish Politics, Recession, Social Policy

Oman Removals in Kildare have advertised (Updated Link here) for a web designer intern on Job Bridge. If you have a look at their site you might see why they are in need. (PS I’m not sure if Continuum who did design work for Oman in 2008 are responsible for the current design.)

Now if you are a out of work or budding designer looking for mentoring or experience how would you expect to get it with a removals company whose business and expertise is not in the area of website design? If you are a removals company who don’t want to spend money on hiring a company to design your website what might you do if there is an intern scheme available?

These of course are the questions that the National Employment and Entitlements Service should be asking when accepting applications for the scheme.

By the way Job Bridge is now open to Sole Traders to apply to host interns. Previously forbidden from participating, someone has lobbied for the rules to be changed and voila those people working on their own who need a spare pair of free hands, who want recruit an intern can do so.

Oh yes if you own a property and pay management fees to Fisher Property Management you might wonder what you are paying for. They’ve advertised for a Maintenance/Cleaning Manager Intern post. – Updated link here  Amazing how many of these internships get manager tagged on for appearances sake.

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Guest Cluck: Earthlings, just like you

August 17th, 2011 · Equality, Recession, Social Policy

I saw the invitation for guest posts on this, one of my favourite, blogs & I asked if I could send in a rant about media treatment of the social welfare system.  The lovely blogger agreed.

Life intervened and the piece which was about half written (in my head) was delayed. Then the UK riots happened and I sat & waited for the inevitable.  It didn’t take long. Commentators & politicians in the media there started blaming ‘single mothers’ & ‘fatherless families’ for the breakdown in morality etc even while the burning & looting continued.  And of course the usual suspects had to follow suit here.  Messrs Myers & Waters erupted as they always do. In case you missed it Fergus Finlay quotes them both in The Irish Examiner on August 16th.

I am really pleased and personally grateful that Fergus Finlay, based on his experience of being the boss in Barnardos, has used his weekly Examiner column to take those journalists to task. It is really important that people in his position do so.

Myers & Waters need to be answered. I barely take them seriously to be honest. But other people do.

The ones I take seriously are the ones who, at times like these feel the need to row in or indeed remain eerily silent while a huge go is had at our families.

So, this is addressed to you:

You appear to genuinely believe that my family is bad for the very fabric of our society.  Some of you are coming from the same place as the two fabled journalists, but many of you seem to feel concern for my children.  Well thanks and all, but my children are just like you and yours. Like most children in one-parent families they have not grown up ‘fatherless’. Let me say though that I know some who have, and others who have been reared by two mammies, and you know what, they’re just like you & yours too. Not from Mars or Venus, we’re earthlings, just like you.

I respect your right and claim it too, to ask hard questions about parenting, about irresponsible parents, of any gender, in all family types.  But actually I don’t need you to focus exclusively on my kind of family.

Whenever I have challenged people who talk in negative terms about lone mothers, I am greeted with howls of ‘Oh Frances, we don’t mean you, for God’s sake!!’ No they mean the ‘feckless teenager’ – less than 3% of us are under 20 by the way. They mean the ones ‘popping out babies every year to get benefits etc’ – 58% of all of us have one child, 32% have two, by the way.  They never mean tragic, but respectable, and has never been a burden to the state, me. They aren’t in the least bit embarrassed by how blatant they are being, by the way.

Well, please don’t differentiate like that on my behalf.  I don’t identify with you & your thinking.  I identify with the mothers & fathers (nobody ever mentions the 26,000 or so Dads rearing children alone) who have ended up like me rearing children on their own, but in the most difficult of living circumstances.  The ones people really blame for the riots. Who, like me, worry about the impact of their family situation on their children, as Fergus Finlay describes, but have poverty thrown into the mix as well.

Our families, all of us, especially those in poverty, need you to stop and think about your motivations & concerns. We need you to consider the language you use about our families.  We don’t want to be treated like laboratory specimens for your personal sociological study.

If you want to help, then the next time someone makes a negative or patronising remark about us, please speak up for us: our diversity, our ordinariness. Yes we can claim children who grew up to be Barack Obama and several other Nobel winning geniuses. But look around you. Myers & Waters are right, we’re everywhere. Ordinary mortals, rearing our kids, just like you.

Or get yourself acquainted with some facts & figures about our families. There are plenty on the CSO website or on www.oneparent.ie.

Or better still when the time comes, and it looks like it will, for the poorest of our families to take another social welfare cut, write or ring your TD to express your genuine concern about this. 65% of children living in poverty do so in our families, by the way.

Frances Byrne, writing in a personal capacity, is the CEO of OPEN and the very proud mother of two children who are just like your sons/daughters/grandchildren/nieces/nephews/cousins/ friends/neighbours.

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Iarnrod Eireann apologise to gay couple over travel pass rejection

August 16th, 2011 · Irish Rail, Same Sex Partnerships

Iarnrod Eireann have ‘sincerely’ apologised to a gay man and his husband for an incident in Heuston Station on Sunday where they were prevented from travelling on a train to Cork because the ticket checker and station master would not allow them to travel on a Department of Social Protection travel pass.  The pass was issued to one of the couple on the basis of his Disability Allowance and it permitted him to take his spouse with him.

The couple were married in Spain and under the Civil Partnerships and Certain Rights of Cohabitants Act 2011 their marriage is recognised in Irish law.  When the act came into force an application was made to extend the travel pass to the spouse and was immediately granted by the Department of Social Protection.

Officials in Heuston Station (including the station master) did not seem to know that the law had changed.  In correspondence sent to me it was clear that distress had been caused to the passengers as they were trying to make their journey.  After a delay (and a missed train) permission was given to the passenger and his husband to travel.

He wasn’t going to refuse me and my husband to travel but that as far as he was concerned the policy of Irish Rail was that same-sex couples were not allowed to use a travel pass and he promptly passed the blame over to the Department of Social Welfare and Irish Rail for a failure to communicate.

A complaint was made to Irish Rail yesterday and a swift apology issued by spokesman Barry Kenny which acknowledged that the incident had taken place and that staff in the station were not aware that the rules had changed .

Readers may remember prior to Civil Partnership recognition that Irish Rail instructed its staff to prevent same sex couples from benefiting from free travel under spousal passes due to the Social Welfare Amendment Act 2004.  They even put notices up in the ticket checkers cabins on the matter.  The company said that this was not their instruction but implementation of the law from the Department of Social Welfare.  They repeated this in their apology yesterday and added that they hoped to be able to welcome the passenger and his husband on board their services in the future. Ironically the passengers had been returning from the LGBT Noise March for Marriage Equality when they attempted to make their journey.

All Iarnrod Eireann staff will be receiving information this week updating them on the changes in legislation regarding spousal travel passes and their application to same sex couples who are married or in civil partnerships.  Better late than never maybe but very unfortunate that it had to happen at all. I didn’t think I would be writing about travel passes and civil partnerships and same sex couples ever again.   If anyone sees this new circular stuck up in a cabin be a dear and take a pic and send it to me?  Thank you.

For Iarnrod Eireann staff and others who want to know more about Civil Partnerships and Social Welfare there is a useful publication from the Department of Social Protection available.

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Give me a reason

August 16th, 2011 · Trot for the ARAS 2011

In case you missed it, there’s another potential candidate considering his options.  How lucky are we?

Singer Brian Kennedy is the new poster man for same sex marriage equality.  Speaking after the LGBT Noise march on Sunday, Kennedy gave his views on the race for the Presidency to the Irish Times. 

Speaking after the rally, Kennedy said he was very disappointed Senator David Norris had withdrawn from the presidential race, and that he would not rule out running himself.

“Someone asked me at a gig last night if I’d consider running, and I would consider it.

“I think President Kennedy has a nice ring to it,” he added.

Now of course Brian could be joking but in this Presidential campaign one should learn not to joke about these matters or your name will be tested by Fianna Fáil in private opinion polls!

 

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JobBridge – Ladbrokes looking for a freebie

August 13th, 2011 · Recession

On July 18 Ladbrokes advertised for a full-time paid position as  Graduate Building Surveyor on Irishjobs.ie.   The advert has been taken down but is cached here.

We are currently recruiting for a full time Graduate Building Surveyor to be based in our Dublin Head Office for a one year fixed term contract.

Key Responsibilities:
To assist the Property and Maintenance Department in the achievement of Business and Departmental goals
Assist in the construction and shop fitting projects and programmes of work from initial site survey to occupancy, to meet all targets, deadlines and budgets.
Co-ordinate external and internal resources through design approval, shell and fitting out stages, and ensure regular liaison with other members of the project team.
Ensure the necessary consents from Board, Licensing, Planning and other Statutory Authorities, landlords etc. are obtained, and liaise with bodies as required to maintain programme.
Administration in production of tender and contract documentation and recommendations for appointment and documents for signature.
Develop structures and improve systems within the Department.

Candidate Requirements:

Strong working knowledge of current Planning, Building Regulations and Health Safety Legislation.
Building surveying or related qualification an advantage.
Relevant construction, shop fitting, services project management experience within multi-site retail business an advantage.
Proven competence in AutoCAD essential.
Ability to communicate clearly and interact with people from different levels within the organisation.
Proven ability to work on own initiative.
Personable and enthusiastic with a positive outlook and solutions focused.
Excellent written and oral skills, presentation skills and listening skills.

We do not require the assistance of recruitment agencies at this time

 

Last week Ladbrokes advertised for an internship on JobBridge.  The post is unpaid by them, and look at the description on jobs.ie

We are currently recruiting for a full time Graduate Building Surveyor on a 9 month Internship under the FAS Jobbridge Programme. This job will be based in our Dublin Head Office on the Naas Road. During the period you will be entitled to work full time (37.5 hours) while retaining your social welfare benefits and payments. There is no payment made by the employer or FAS during the internship placement period, but you will receive an extra €50 on top of your current social welfare benefits.

To comply with the National Internship Scheme regulations, in order to apply for this position applicants must be in receipt of any of the following for a minimum of three months: Jobseekers Allowance, Jobseekers Benefit, signing for social insurance contribution credits.

This internship would suit an ambitious and motivated individual keen to pursue a career in the area of Building Surveying. It will provide the opportunity to work alongside experienced professionals to gain valuable experience which will assist with career development.

Key Responsibilities:
To assist the Property and Maintenance Department in the achievement of Business and Departmental goals
Assist in the construction and shop fitting projects and programmes of work from initial site survey to occupancy, to meet all targets, deadlines and budgets.
Co-ordinate external and internal resources through design approval, shell and fitting out stages, and ensure regular liaison with other members of the project team.
Ensure the necessary consents from Board, Licensing, Planning and other Statutory Authorities, landlords etc. are obtained, and liaise with bodies as required to maintain programme.
Administration in production of tender and contract documentation and recommendations for appointment and documents for signature.
Develop structures and improve systems within the Department.

Candidate Requirements:
Strong working knowledge of current Planning, Building Regulations and Health & Safety Legislation.
Building surveying or related qualification an advantage. .
Proven competence in AutoCAD essential.
Ability to communicate clearly and interact with people from different levels within the organisation.
Proven ability to work on own initiative.
Personable and enthusiastic with a positive outlook and solutions focused.
Excellent written and oral skills, presentation skills and listening skills.

The people at JobBridge have written their own description to make it sound more internlike (I had it confirmed by an employer that descriptions are being rewritten).  However if it walks like a duck, it’s quacking mad.   Many thanks to TB for the tip off.

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