Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Given the short amount of time I have been in office, I hope it is clear that when I say I will do something, I do it. If I have made a mistake and will not be able to do it for a particular reason, I will not have a problem admitting that and will tell Deputies why I cannot do it. My intention in considering the report is to see if what we have done has worked. If it has not, it must be changed. I am very conscious of that, which is why I am currently in discussions with the Commissioner about an extension and a slight change to the youth guarantee fund because a large number of those under 25 are not ready for employment and there are a variety of reasons for that. It is not because they do not go out on a Tuesday and get a job. There are a couple of significant barriers to employment and I need extra money to try to help those young people become employment ready. I will do that this year if I can get extra money from the Commissioner. I want to examine whether the changes we have made have worked. If they have, that is to be welcomed, but if they did not work, I will have no problem changing them. No matter who the Minister is, we are here to help people get out of situations whereby they cannot afford a proper standard of living and to try to help them better themselves through training or upskilling or to ensure that those in other situations have a decent fixed income to have a satisfactory life.