Ms Michelle Murphy:

I will try to group the questions and comments by theme and then Mr. Murphy and I will go through them.

I will respond to the education questions first. Deputy Crowe mentioned the non-progression rates and progression issues particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The areas we examined in the report are those which pertain to the reform programme itself. We would highlight lifelong learning as one of the most important areas for investment in Ireland. It has been identified by the Commission as probably the key area to deal with regarding the technological impact on employment and the changing nature of employment. The cuts to guidance counsellors have obviously had an impact. There is also the issue of supports for students transitioning from a system at second level which is very different to the system one moves into once one enters further education.

At second level, one learns in a particular way and one does one's exams, whereas once one moves into the further education system, one is supposed to rely on oneself. It is a much more independent system. That transition can be quite difficult. I think there are issues there around those supports.

In terms of apprenticeships, there are some positive movements. As Deputy Durkan said, there can be difficulties for young people in finding an employer. More needs to be done by the Government to support employers to take on young apprentices. Apprenticeships and traineeships can play a key role in addressing some of the unemployment we have, particularly long-term unemployment in the regions. However, we have to ensure that the apprenticeships and traineeships are not narrowed by age. We have to look at a broader range of things. We have to look at both the skills and the age profile of those who are unemployed in particular regions, the employment that is likely to be available in those regions and how we can move people into them. Apprenticeships and traineeships can play a key role in that and they will play a key role into the future.

Lifelong learning plays a key role in adult literacy. As Senator Craughwell said, it is not just about inputs and outputs, it is about enabling a person to be able to participate fully in the economy and in society and encouraging a person to participate in simple things such as voting. We face a funding crisis in education at all levels. At a European level, the Government could be pushing for investment considered social investment to be excluded from the process designed to calculate the budget deficit. That would include investment in things like education and health care. We should be pushing for that. As policy was driven in a particular direction as a result of funding, we still have not grappled with how we are going to deal with the ongoing funding of education. As the Senator mentioned, it is about seamlessly putting in the supports throughout the system in primary level, secondary level and early childhood education to deal with students who may have particular needs, issues or diagnoses and to ensure the supports are there for them throughout their school years within the education system.

Deputy Durkan mentioned that lifelong learning and education are the keys to helping people who are distant from the labour market or who are long-term unemployed get closer to jobs and get the jobs that become available. There are also people with particular skill sets that are in danger of being impacted by technology. That is an area that we really have to look at. It is something that deserves consideration.

In terms of equality-proofing and poverty-proofing the budget, in Ireland we do have an obligation to poverty-proof the budget. Social Justice Ireland has promoted equality-proofing and poverty-proofing for many years. There is a commitment to it in the programme for Government. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has been tasked with looking at how we might equality-proof the budget process. It is done in Scotland, for example. If we introduce an equality-proofing process, Oireachtas committees would be much more informed when they consider different policy recommendations that they might make to Government, not just for the budgetary process, but for the policy process as a whole. I am of the view that it would be a welcome step forward. With the independent budget office now being staffed, this is a key opportunity to ensure that we can get equality-proofing into this process.

I will move on to employment. I will make a few comments and then let Eamon come in. In terms of why we chose the targets we did, we set the sub-target for long-term unemployment at 1.3% because that is what the long-term unemployment rate was in 2007. We have set the target for general unemployment at 4%. That is why we chose those targets. At a European level and a national level, issues such as precarious employment, zero-hour contracts and low pay are becoming issues that are worrying, challenging and that need to be watched, addressed and brought into the policy process. We need to look at how to address those issues. There are 105,000 people who are working poor in Ireland. What kind of policies can support those people? We have been on record for a considerable period as promoting refundable tax credits. It is a huge cost to the State because the State is essentially subsidising low-wage employers through family income supplement and various other parts of the social welfare system. Therefore, it is in the State's interest to ensure that people can earn a wage that promotes a decent basic standard of living and can cover things for people's housing costs and transport costs. I will ask Eamon to comment on long-term unemployment and on the fact that even though unemployment is coming down, the regional variations that obtain.