Joe O'Reilly (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join my colleague, Senator Kathryn Reilly, in welcoming our guests and I thank them for their presentations.

I wish to begin by making a general point.

Our macroeconomic strategies are working to the extent that the haemorrhage of 275,000 jobs over a three year period until 2011 has been replaced by a small increase in job numbers. While tentative, that is indicative and welcome. A total of 12,500 new jobs were created last year, which is good. We have a crisis with youth unemployment that challenges all of us. A rate of 30% youth unemployment is not acceptable. The drop in the live register to 68,361 from 91,646 is welcome. I am interested in Mr. Stokes's reference to the live register. What explanation does he give for this reduction? I presume some of it is due to the creation of new jobs and educational and training opportunities. I understand emigration, while remaining high, has stabilised. Given the decline in emigration, the reduction in the number on the live register cannot be explained fully by emigration. Will the delegates explain how they interpret the change in the live register?

I wish to raise the issue of apprenticeships. I recognise that the construction industry is in a bad place, as we all know. However, Senator Kathryn Reilly and I were both campaigning for a couple of schools to be built and there is still infrastructure to be developed. I accept that there is a problem in the construction sector, but apprenticeships are important. Is enough being done to simulate apprenticeship conditions within schools, colleges and training centres? It is not possible for young people to be offered apprenticeships. It is good for a young person to do an apprenticeship. One might ask what is the point in qualifying to become a blocklayer, carpenter, plumber or electrician in the current conditions, but if a person has an aspiration and a capacity in the area, it is a building point. What do the delegates know about what has been done to simulate apprenticeship conditions to avoid people having to go on a treasure hunt seeking an apprenticeship which tends to be like jobs in Guinness’s long ago which were passed from father to son. It is impossible to be offered an apprenticeship.

I was preparing a speech in recent weeks for a debate in the House and during my research I came across the fact that there was a great dearth of IT personnel. The IT sector has indicated there are approximately 4,800 vacancies which we do not have the domestic capacity to fill. The situation is replicated in particular in Germany and other European countries. Do the delegates consider we are doing enough to produce expertise in the sector? Long-term unemployed youth have been identified as a problem. It is a challenge for us to deal with the problem. Could those with low educational attainment and the long-term unemployed be directed to the IT sector? Are there jobs at a basic level or are all of the jobs in the sector for graduates or those who require postgraduate qualifications? It is correct to applaud Youthreach. We have good Youthreach centres in the constituency. When a young person comes out of a Youthreach centre at the age of 17, 18 or 20 years with a low level of educational attainment – perhaps with FETAC qualifications – is there potential for him or her to pursue a career in the IT sector? Could such young people find a job at the level of programmer or are all of the jobs in cloud computing and at other exalted levels?

The payment-by-results approach is interesting, on which I would like some elaboration. I presume the training units and educational centres would receive payment according to results. There would be equality results also. I am a former teacher. Reference was made in the presentation to the fact that a person should stay for the maximum period in the traditional formal school system. Therein lies the key, as the statistics for youth unemployment bear out. It was clearly outlined that the bulge in the pyramid relate to people with low educational qualifications who had left school young. When the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton, was in opposition, he examined this issue. It is not always easy to get the money to do such things. What is the opinion of the delegates of incentives to keep people in the traditional school setting?