Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)
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The delegation is very welcome. Mr. Beuster is my neighbour as well so it is not the first time we have been in this setting. I thank the committee for the opportunity to be here and have this exchange. I will add a few words to what Deputy Durkan said about local government and then put one or two questions to the person in charge of youth affairs and the agricultural speakers.

The delegation asked about local government. Traditionally, local government would be funded through business rates and a local government fund. That would pay for local services. For a Government under stress, continuing to put the same amount of money into local government presents a huge challenge. As part of our reform package, we are bringing in a new property tax, which is currently due. I guess it widens the tax base so that not all of our taxes are on income but it will be a critical tax to fund local government as 65% of that tax will remain within the local authority area. We have about 30 local authorities, 26 counties and four cities.

It is great to have the opportunity to meet the delegation so that we can learn more about how people in Germany live and what their priorities are. We know Germany plays a predominant role within the EU and it is not unusual to be told that we need to learn how to be good Germans, which does not always go down very well in Ireland. I am keen to learn more about some of the challenges Germany faces.

Our youth unemployment is very high. About one in three of our young people under 30 would be unemployed. Could the delegation talk about the German figures? It is a massive challenge because around 65% of our young people attend third level education.

For that body of young people to come into the market without opportunities can be soul destroying. Nevertheless, we believe it is the way we should be going. What is the rate of unemployment among those aged under 30 years in Germany and what are young people doing at third level? Where is the thrust in terms of Government policy? Is it towards information technology, maths and sciences, that is, the knowledge economy? Germany has a great tradition in the artisan area. I ask the witnesses to speak further about this. What is the starting income level for graduates of sciences and artisan areas? Our wages were traditionally high, which is the reason we lost competitiveness but growth could be promoted in the European Union if Germans were paid more and had more money to spend.