Why can’t employers find enough people to do the work of society? There aren’t enough people available to work as teachers, vets, bus drivers, etc. All these common, essential jobs are going unfilled in large numbers, leading to problems in the functioning of society as a whole.

And this despite rising poverty levels forcing ever more women into the workforce, and high immigration rates increasing the relative number of people of working age.

So what are the adults of Ireland all doing, that they’re not available to do these jobs?

https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-lfs/labourforcesurveyquarter22021/employment/

Well for a start, 15% are working in “motor vehicles”. This sounds too high. I’m sure this industry does not need so many people. It’s the same number as work in “human health”.

How can this number be reduced, to allow more people to work in more valuable jobs?

1. Extra tax on high earning jobs like “motor vehicle” tradesmen? This could be used to fund higher salaries for jobs like driving buses. If the market is thus manipulated so essential jobs pay better, people will switch jobs and the problem is solved.

2. Promote cars which are more durable and require less frequent maintenance. Punish the sale of new cars and especially cars which cannot easily be maintained by the owner, or whose parts cannot easily and cheaply be acquired by normal people.

Encouraging electric bikes and electric cars will not help. I mean it won’t help in general, but it especially won’t help with this problem. Electric bikes and electric cars require more frequent maintenance and replacement than conventional cars. It is possible to design electric vehicles which are far more durable that petrol ones, because of technology advantages. But that will not happen until it is promoted through taxation, as above.

3. The need for vehicles in general is proportional to how badly towns are planned. Housing, jobs, and amenities and leisure need to be placed near each other. The placement should be enforced by planning law. This reduces commuting distances and increases usage of “mobilités douces”.

So only #3 is the real solution. Through a happy coincidence, this is also the solution to most of society’s other problems, like the housing crisis, drug use and bad behaviour and petty crime, global warming, etc.

Although #3 is simple and obvious, it requires critical thinking which the current government is not capable of. So it is worth remembering for after the next election.