Dr. Thomas Conefrey:

The Deputy is correct there was a large increase in the youth unemployment rate, a much higher rate than average unemployment rate, which went into the 20% sphere. It has fallen significantly. It is currently twice the average unemployment rate. It is high but it has fallen much.

One positive development is that a phenomenon we saw during the boom was the tendency for young males to go out of education and straight into employment, particularly in the construction and related sectors. From current data, it is clear that the tendency for that to happen has declined much. The labour force participation rate for young males in the 15 to 19 year old age group fell quite significantly in 2008 and 2009 and has not recovered. In one sense, one might think that is a negative. When we look at the data, the major reason for that seems to be that they are staying on in education, which is a benefit in the long run. Improvements in youth unemployment and a greater tendency for younger cohorts to continue in education, which benefits their earnings and their employment prospects in the long term, are the case now.