Anthony Lawlor (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Secretary General to the committee for this full and frank discussion. It is vital that we continue on our current path when it comes to job creation. There is a fear out there that our cost base may be starting to increase, with significant implications for our competitiveness. Mr. Murphy indicated that the Department is working with six companies on issues such as reducing red tape, although that was not the phrase he used. Can he identify those companies?

We have spoken on several occasions about the need to ensure that information on the various schemes and options available to people is readily available. I cannot help but think of the For Dummies series of books which offers comprehensive guidance on a range of subjects. I do not mean to cause offence by using the word "dummies", but I am regularly asked about the type of assistance that is available, how people can get started, source finance and so on. There is a range of schemes at all levels and the evidence is that people are failing, for whatever reason, to access the information on those schemes. It might be useful to put together some type of document setting out all the information in one place.

One of the most pressing aspects of the unemployment issue is youth unemployment. I agree with Deputy Áine Collins that there was great praise for the Department at all of the meetings we have attended in Brussels in terms of its efforts to restore the economy. I proposed at one of those meetings that Horizon 2020 should incorporate a provision on youth unemployment. Will Mr. Murphy indicate whether the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is the lead Department on Horizon 2020?

When I met recently with the president of the students union at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, he referred to the requirement for graduates to wait up to six months before being eligible to access the various employment activation schemes. I accept that the long-term unemployed are a priority under these schemes, but many of these well-qualified graduates are struggling to enter the workforce. The jobs market has changed dramatically in recent years. When I was going to school, a person leaving with a junior certificate could expect to get a job. Now, one needs a primary degree if there is to be any chance of getting into the labour market. In fact, a fourth level qualification is a requirement in many cases. The president of the students union in Maynooth pointed out that the requirement for graduates to be unemployed for up to six months before they can access a scheme means that some will end up disappearing, either out of the country or out of the education system. Would it be possible to amend the action plan for 2014 to accommodate these graduates? They need a pathway into full-time employment.