A Galway schoolteacher, during a debate on the economy, accused some employers of exploiting young people. Mr Kieran Duffy, a local election candidate in Galway city, said: "We need to stop unscrupulous employers from raiding our classrooms. On Monday morning, my class of 30 is usually reduced by six. It starts when they are at the age of 14 years."
He said some of the children were going to work because the money they earned was an integral part of family income. However, that was only a part of the story.
"The culture of child employment which is developing needs to be rejected. There are children now working, not to contribute to the family budget, but because they need money for their own recreation. Children are children and we expect them to want to do that. But, as adults, we have a responsibility to prevent employers giving work to somebody who is that young."
Mr Paul Sweeney (SIPTU) said the absence of a proper State infrastructure was illustrated in that it had taken many delegates six hours to make the journey by road from Dublin to Tralee. "We need to invest in bypasses, motorways and so on. While public transport is not bad, the trains are in a bad way." Mr Seamus Rattigan (Dublin South West) said if the State did not watch economic developments closely the Celtic Tiger could turn into a phantom cat. "The type of industries being established here and producing employment could easily be moved to other countries as they upgrade their systems."
Mr Fergus Ryan (Dublin South East) said in the property boom surviving unmarried partners faced the prospect of paying out a prohibitive amount in capital acquisitions tax on the death of their partners. "This may even require the sale of one's home. This is highly discriminatory because a spouse is entirely exempted from such a tax on assets received from their deceased spouse.
"While I do not want to single out any particular group, I think it is worth noting that this is particularly harsh on those who are precluded from having a relationship recognised in law, particularly gay and lesbian couples."
Ms Noeleen Hartigan (UCD) said never before in the State's history had it been so morally remiss to ignore the reality of unemployment. "The most important task which faces the Labour Party is to challenge the widespread belief that we no longer have an unemployment crisis. We must challenge the journalists and the opinion leaders who often reduce the complex needs of the unemployed to statistics about job creation. These jobs are invariably not open to the unemployed."
The party's spokesman on enterprise, trade and employment, Mr Pat Rabbitte, said the philosophy underpinning the conference was the belief in the role of the State in redistributing the wealth from economic activity.
"One reality is that the gap between rich and poor is widening. There are, thankfully, more jobs out there but there are also more low-paid jobs. Many low-paid workers are sick and tired of the parade of vulgar consumption, while the quality of their own lives is still a struggle for survival."
Mr Rabbitte said many young people on relatively good incomes could not contemplate owning homes. "Their families are being driven into deeper reliance on private healthcare. Many other young people are literally in over their heads as they strive to repay the mortgage at the expense of other essentials."