Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In case anyone misunderstood me initially, I welcome that there is now a focus at EU level on youth unemployment. While the Minister gave a very comprehensive reply to questions raised by various members of the committee, it lacked specifics. Perhaps because I am my party's spokesperson on this area, I received many queries following the newspaper report that there would be a youth guarantee scheme. There is considerable interest in such a scheme from people who are increasingly desperate. How many people does the Minister envisage will benefit from this? If she does not have the data, that is fine - I accept that. How much will it cost and who will pay for it? Are we really serious about it? Deputy Ó Snodaigh mentioned €300 million to €400 million, which might even be a conservative estimate given the potential numbers. I followed the Minister's reply as carefully as I could. She said there would be a meeting, another meeting, an agreement, a paper and then hopefully the EU would spend more of its social budget in this area. With all due respect, that is not very specific. I do not seek those answers for myself but for many young people and their families who have contacted me expressing some hope that at last something may be happening in this area.