Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There are a lot of things there that I could talk about at length but time is limited.

There can be no doubt that the pandemic has affected different people in different ways. It has affected men differently to women and younger people differently to older people. Older people have borne the brunt in terms of death and illness from the pandemic. Young people have borne the brunt in terms of the economic impact, losing jobs, loss of income and the loss of the opportunities to do the things that younger people want to do which is to meet friends and find a life partner. All those things have been horribly interrupted in the past year.

I do not like the idea of saying men are more affected than women or older people more affected than younger people. When one examines it, different groups are affected in different ways. Even when it comes to gender, men are more likely to have died from Covid and twice as likely to have ended up in ICU. Women have been more adversely affected by domestic violence, mental health issues and the burden of caring. It is absolutely the case that young people have been affected in a particular way. It is an economic way as well as other ways.

The figure around youth unemployment is often misleading. When people hear of 50% or 60% youth unemployment, they think that means that 50% or 60% of all young people are unemployed. That is not the case at all. When somebody is in education or training, they are not counted. The actual youth unemployment rate is 22%. I accept that is very high and is about double the average for the whole population. However, probably the best statistic is the loss of employment. The numbers employed who are young is down about 14%. The numbers employed who are middle aged or older is down about 6%. That would give a more accurate reflection as to what has happened. It is because young people are disproportionately employed in areas like retail, construction and hospitality which are closed. Construction is back open while retail and hospitality will reopen. That will deal with most of the problem but by no means all of it. That is why we need to do more.

As to what we can do, some of it is around better terms and conditions like the move to the living wage. One has to have a job, of course, before one gets that. That is why we need to make sure we do it right. Education and training opportunities are another area. I am proud that we have more people from more diverse backgrounds in third level and further education than ever before in the history of the State. That has been as a result of the great work done by the past two Governments, one of which included the Senator's own party. We need that to continue. These are the angles we will go on. Getting the economy back open is how most people will get their jobs back. That will bring about the biggest fall in youth unemployment, as well as a focus on education and training, and ensuring people have opportunities.

The unpaid internships need to be examined. I have done it myself and I have had unpaid interns, as the Senator might have too. I found it beneficial. There is a big difference, however, between doing something for a few weeks and unpaid labour for an entire year. We probably need some regulation in this area but I have not quite had a chance to examine it yet.