Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

I am sure the Tánaiste would have been as disturbed as I to read the household budget survey published yesterday which shows that 60% of the 175,000 jobs that have been lost in the past two years were lost by those under the age of 25. The unemployment rate among this category of people has increased by 17%, which is extraordinary. Effectively, the lives of 90,000 young people have been placed on hold. The Government presented some 20 legislative priorities to the Dáil but none of these contain any employment-related proposals. I would be the first to recognise that noise nuisance, the control of dogs or the levy on plastic bags are important issues.

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