Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The meeting is now in session and I ask everyone to turn off their mobile telephones because they can interfere with the broadcasting equipment.

The first item on our agenda today is the European Youth Guarantee and its impact on Ireland. On behalf of the committee, I am delighted to welcome Mr. James Doorley from the National Youth Council of Ireland, Mr. James Higgins from the European Youth Forum and Mr. Dermot Stokes, an ex-member of Youthreach.

As members will know, at the end of the February the Council of the European Union reached political agreement on a recommendation addressed to the member states to establish a youth guarantee scheme, the aim of which is to ensure that all young people under the age of 25 who lose their jobs or who do not find work after finishing formal education quickly receive a good-quality offer of employment, continued education, or an apprenticeship or traineeship. The guarantee states that they should receive such an offer within four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education. The guarantee is intended to provide for a smooth transition between school and work, support labour market integration and make sure that no young person is left out. The measure is a key part of the response to the worsening youth unemployment situation in Europe. In Ireland, youth unemployment stands at 32% and in countries such as Spain, the unemployment rate for those under 25 is almost 50%. We all recognise that something needs to be done and this committee is interested in exploring how the proposed scheme might work in practice. In that context, we look forward to hearing the views of our witnesses today on how such a scheme might work and whether it could be customised for the Irish market.

I wish to draw attention to the parliamentary practice to the effect that members should not comment on, criticise or make charges against an individual or entity either by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it easily identifiable. By virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the Defamation Act 2009, witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect of their evidence to this committee. However, if they are directed by the committee to cease giving evidence on a particular matter and they continue to do so, they are entitled thereafter only to a qualified privilege in respect of their evidence. They are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given and are asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, they should not criticise nor make charges against any person or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable.