OLDER workers in Clare are being urged to get in touch with an Ennis-born researcher and his team at University College Dublin (UCD), with a view to sharing their employment experiences.

This county has been selected as one of five locations nationwide, where the research team  will explore the opportunities and challenges faced by workers aged 55 and over, who are living or working in the region.

The lead researcher is a Clare man, Dr Micheál Collins, who is Assistant Professor of Social Policy at The School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice at UCD. The study is funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Low Pay Commission. The hope is that the study’s results will be used to inform future public policy in the area.

“One of the reasons we chose Clare is because of the relatively high numbers of people working in the hospitality and retail sectors,” Dr Collins told The Champion. “The nature of the economy of the county made it a very good fit for the study.”

Nationally, the number of staff over the age of 55 is increasing and one of the aims of the study is to examine why. “That could be down to the fact that people are coming back into employment, if they’ve taken time out to raise a family,” Dr Collins said. “It’s also likely to be down to the fact that the Irish population as a whole is aging and more people are staying on in the workforce. An increasing number of people will find themselves moving into the category of ‘older worker,’ which, of course, doesn’t necessarily mean that they are old.”

Dr Collins also noted that retail and hospitality are not among the highest-paid sectors and said the research would shed light on why older workers are choosing those industries. “We are hoping to gain an insight into the factors that are driving peoples’ choices and what it is about these sectors that has brought them into them,” he said. “It may be the case that they are balancing the care of others and other responsibilities, so we’re looking to explore all of that.”

Acknowledging the likelihood that many people normally employed in the retail and hospitalities sectors could now find themselves laid off, and in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), Dr Collins said researchers are still looking to hear from them. “That’s why we’re looking for people who are currently or who were recently employed in those sectors, more than 30 hours a week,” he explained. “Workers in retail and hospitality have been particularly exposed to the challenges of the current Covid-19 pandemic and we will also collect information on these recent experiences.”

The pandemic has also slowed down the pace of the research, to some degree, however it is likely to be completed and published later this year. “The process of reaching people has been made a bit harder,” Dr Collins acknowledged, “and we’re looking at publishing it after the summer. After that, it will be presented to the relevant Oireachtas committees with a view to informing the policies and approach of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.”

Those interested in taking part in the research, and completing a confidential interview (in the form of a chat by telephone or online by Skype or Zoom can contact the research team by phone (call or text) on 089-2708764 or by email at olderworkersucd@gmail.com