Mr. James Doorley:

Let me address Senator Hayden's point about the OECD saying there is a choice and the question of whether we should stay on track and hope for gains in the longer term. The reality is that if we stay on track, the young person who has been unemployed for a year or two will have a very bleak outlook if told he or she might get a job in five or ten years if he or she hangs on. That is the reality of making the big macroeconomic decisions. If we keep doing the same thing while expecting different results, it will not work. We have had five years of cuts and young people and a range of other groups have been the victims. That is the reality and we cannot get away from it. We must face up to it. If we are to continue down the current track, we must accept that another 35,000 young people between 18 and 25, or perhaps more, will emigrate next year.

The latest employment figures were positive in the sense that the overall employment rate increased. However, it actually decreased among young people to the tune of 1.57%. The number of young people under 25 employed in Ireland is half what it was in 2008. Many young people have been shut out of the labour market.

I agree with the points made on the youth budget. It has been cut disproportionately in recent years. This probably relates in particular to the fact that many of the services are provided by the community and voluntary sector. It is easier to cut. This is the reality of Departments trying to ascertain where they can get funding. Some of our member organisations work with young people of eight, nine, ten and 11, who are children in the legal sense. I am not sure about spinning but certainly it is a matter of recognising the value of the work that has been done.

With regard to the junk food tax, I agree with such targeted taxation. From what I know, the Department of Finance does not like hypothecated tax. It does not like to say a pot of money is for a specific purpose because it may not have money to do certain things if something happens to it down the road. Targeted taxes that bring in revenue in the current environment, particularly taxes that make a social contribution as well as an economic one, should be borne in mind. We have not been radical enough. That is why we proposed the levy in regard to alcohol. If the food levy could be used to address some of the income issues that families are facing, we should not shy away from it.