Mr. James Doorley:

The National Youth Council of Ireland represents approximately 45 national voluntary youth organisations working with and for young people in Ireland. The title of our submission is Beyond Austerity. To echo my colleagues, we are looking for a vision of Ireland that looks beyond getting rid of the troika and the reduction of debt-to-GDP ratios. The OECD stated in its report published today that young people have been hit hard. We know that 177,000 young people have emigrated since 2008. Ireland has 28% youth unemployment and the fourth highest level in the EU of young people who are not in education, training or employment. Funding for vital services for young people such as youth work services has been cut by 30% since 2008.

Our submission covers five areas. Youth work services have seen a 30% cut since 2008. The majority of these services are working with young people in socially and economically disadvantaged communities. An analysis was carried out last year which showed that for every one euro invested in youth work by the State, over the long term there is a recoupment to the State of more than €2.20. A further €3 million cut in youth services is proposed for 2014. One of the key but modest requests in our pre-budget submission is to call for that cut to be cancelled. A cut of €3 million might seem small in the overall expenditure but it will have a major impact on the provision of youth services.

I refer to the significant issue of youth unemployment. Of particular concern to us are the long-term youth unemployed. Approximately 28,000 young people have been unemployed for more than a year and 9,000 have been on the live register for more than three years. We support the youth guarantee scheme because in our view it can make a contribution. However, we are concerned that the most disadvantaged young people will be left behind. We have a modest proposal in our pre-budget submission for a scheme to focus on the long-term youth unemployed who would be given a quality education training or work experience opportunity.

We published a report last May on the issue of emigration, although our priority is to keep young people in Ireland. However, we have to face the fact that many young people have no option. Our study showed that many young people are going abroad with very little support and advice. They are going to countries such as Canada only to realise that their qualifications are insufficient and they may be required to study for six months. We have asked for dedicated support for these young people in our pre-budget submission.

We have identified an initiative that actually raises money. The steering group on the national substance misuse strategy highlighted the very high cost of alcohol misuse in society, particularly with regard to young people. It has been estimated that the justice and health costs are €2.4 billion. The drinks industry should contribute to this cost, in our view. We estimate a very small 1% levy on the turnover of the drinks manufacturers would generate €25 million. This is a modest amount but it could potentially replace the funding provided by sports sponsorship and it could be used to provide activities to reduce or prevent alcohol-related harm among young people. I am happy to share some of the details of the submission with the committee.