Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

This would be a major shift in policy which I would be happy to implement. It has been the policy that whether one is 18 years old with no work record or 50 years old with a 30 years' work record, one can sign on and get €204.30 a week. This would be a significant change. I share the Deputy's views that it would be far better to have the 18 to 20 year olds involved in education and training and given an allowance, which refers to that, rather than giving them something which could lead to them becoming unemployed and dependent at a very early age. The projects appear to be working quite well. We will learn from them and I would be happy to extend them as quickly as possible.

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