Mr. Joe O'Connor:

I will let also Ms Dunne answer. The USI has been very supportive - I have been very vocal in recent months - since the scheme was announced at European level. The breakdown of the €14 million makes it clear that it will represent a small extension of existing labour activation schemes and the €2 million allocated for a youth entrepreneurship scheme. Committee members can draw their own conclusions from this.

To address the graduate employment issue properly, we need a national skills map identifying industry, sectoral and regional shortages, as well as areas in which graduates are unable to find work after they qualify and leave college. This needs to be correlated with areas of high youth unemployment and used to create more sustainable jobs. The job creation and stimulus package needs to be put in place as part of a national jobs strategy for young people. Until we reach that point, we are just trimming around the fringes of the issue.