Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)

I have become allergic to the use by Members on the Government benches of the terminology of the vulnerable and the weakest in our society. Everything in this budget is driven in the opposite action. The weakest and most vulnerable are the victims of this budget. I do not want to hear the terms used again because I cannot buy into the philosophy put forward.

I calculate that there are approximately 3,000 people under the age of 25 on the live register in the constituency of Dublin South-Central. I base this information on figures from the National Youth Council of Ireland and extrapolating from the three social welfare offices that serve the constituency. The constituency has been badly served for many years. In recent times, there was a lift and matters were moving forward. Better education facilities were provided. If we now have 3,000 young people hanging about with no opportunities, any progress made will be reversed.

Regarding graduate placements and training, what are the retraining opportunities for a young architect of 23 years of age with a good degree? Is the person to be retrained as a chef or a carpenter? There seems to be a lack of fit between the people in need of retraining and the training opportunities available. It does not add up, nor does it make sense. There is no thinking outside the box, as another speaker commented, to try to find appropriate training and education provision for young people in that age bracket.

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