men and women, this finding is not surprising - if there are no jobs, this is, logically, the most important barrier.   

Add to this the lack of adequate public transport, any emphasis on jobs that are 'locally' available becomes very clear.  This element is especially important to women, who frequently have to juggle school and childcare journeys while  negotiating the use of the family car (assuming there is one) - and all before they get to work at all.  Recent interview data recorded locally (Kelly, 2002, Unpublished Dissertation) confirms that the provision of both childcare and public transport in Inishowen is inadequate to meet women's needs.  With 'restricted travel patterns' and decreased employment opportunities, they are 'made more susceptible to incidences of poverty' was Kelly's conclusion (p.36).


The loss of the medical card and the low income limits that apply represents another major hurdle for women - if the income that one is likely to earn results in large medical bills for the family, this can more than cancel out any benefits.  As this report was about to be completed, news of the Government's plans to 'roll back' on increasing the number of medical cards was being released.  This represents a further blow to the prospects of employment for women in Inishowen - IWIN has made a commitment to lobby on this issue as a result of its importance to the women in this survey. 

The fact that childcare issues did not emerge in the top six barriers, apart from "When children are sick", which was ranked third, was, initially a matter of concern for the research as a whole.  It was decided to refer the findings to a focus group of local women for discussion and evaluation (see Section 12.5 for further information).  However, leading on from previous discussions about the top rated barrier, the  "Availability of suitable jobs locally"; before considering any other issues that are important barriers for women workers nationally, especially childcare, it is important to realise that if no actual job is available, recognising or rating any impact becomes academic.

5.4 Case Study 3: Employment in the past

Woman in her late fifties:
"It was never a thing that girls went on to further education, there was so much unemployment and poverty that the girls needed to get a job.  There was more work for girls than boys in them days, as girls were more or less guaranteed a job in the factory.  In them days, the factories were full of married women because there was no work for the men.  They were the main breadwinners in the family.  All the money that I got was handed into the house - you got enough to pay for the bus to work but that was all, everything else was handed in because it was needed there. 
I lived in Northern Ireland then and the factories were full of girls and married women that came in from Donegal every day on buses.  My mother-in-law used to tell me about her taking in girls from the Republic because in them days you needed a permit - an address to work in the north.  She took in girls for years.  They came from all over Donegal, even as far as Gortahork (South Donegal).  Even if a man did have a job the wages were terrible and women needed to go out and get work as well.  In them days, families were big - there was no birth control - religion and ignorance on the women's part lead to large families.  The women had to work to keep the family going. 
Men who were working only handed in a housekeeping allowance and kept the rest for themselves.  No one in them days owned their own house, money was just not there.  Only business peoples' children went on to further education, not the ordinary man's, there was no grant aid - everything had to be paid for.  My sister-in-law won a scholarship and went to one of the colleges in the North; other than that, all the other girls in the family went into the factories.  We left school at 14 and 15 and went into the factory.  My sister went straight in to the factory when she was 14.  The school leaving age was raised after that to 15 and I went in when I was 15."