Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

Over the weekend I had a chance to look through the figures in detail, taking both the live register and the most recent quarterly household survey, and two things struck me in particular. First, of those who lost their jobs in the past year almost 50% are under 35 and, second, between two thirds and three quarters of those who became unemployed during that period are male. That probably reflects the downturn in the construction sector but it is terrifying. Has any action been taken to identify the several hundred thousand people in sunset industries whose jobs are at risk due to economic recession? What has been done to provide them with skills to ensure they will be able to find new employment, without having to wait three months, when they lose their jobs? Thus, they will not end up in the dole queues at all.

See this speech in context