Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)

I commend Deputy Varadkar for tabling this motion on behalf of Fine Gael this evening. This is a very timely and relevant motion. Unemployment has gripped this country yet again. Currently, some 434,700 people are on the live register, almost 86,000 of which are under 25 years of age. Unemployment is without doubt the over-riding issue facing our country. The creation and protection of jobs must be at the heart of Government policy. In particular, young people are feeling the pain of unemployment. Young men and women throughout the State have little or no prospect of gaining employment. This is a truly daunting situation faced by our young people. School leavers are left with the choice of joining the growing welfare queues or leaving the country and taking their hard-earned education to benefit other economies on other shores.

In my constituency of Clare almost 11,000 people are signing on, some 2,100 of which are under 25 years of age. During the past two years, the percentage of people under 25 years who are out of work has increased by 137%. In the mid-west there is an unemployment rate more than 1 % higher than the national rate of 12.7%.

I raise the possibility of establishing the Lynx cargo facility at Shannon Airport. This project has the capability of creating thousands of jobs in the mid-west if the Government would only invest in the project and move it forwards. However, it requires the support of the Government and an investment of €7 million, which is not a great deal of money. Were such an investment to be made, it would attract assembly and manufacturing jobs to the Shannon region. I appeal to the Tánaiste to proceed with this proposal.

I appeal to the Government to listen to Deputies who propose such projects which could make this situation better. Fine Gael is aware of the stark reality. We have put together a plan of action to get young people out of their beds and back into the workplace. We need to halt the masses of young people who are emigrating. Without a real, focussed effort of proactive job creation we will have a generation of long-term unemployed people with little focus or hope. I appeal to Government Deputies to consider seriously the proposals in our document Hope for a Lost Generation rather than merely dismissing it, which is usually the case when we table such proposals under Private Members' business.

Like every Deputy in the Chamber, I have been inundated with young people at my constituency office. Such people are looking for a break and for the opportunity to make a contribution to the economy and to help to return it from the brink. In response to the many young people whom I met, I made a submission to Deputy Varadkar which has been fed into or the Hope for a Lost Generation document and I am very proud of this fact. I worked on this with my personal assistant Paul Bugler. These are real proposals that will create jobs, training opportunities and a second chance of education for our young people. I appeal to the Tánaiste not simply to cast aside these proposals. She should take them on board and actually do something about addressing the unemployment crisis in this country. The Tánaiste should take on board our plan which we offer gladly. The resulting 38,000 young people who will be taken off the dole queues will thank the Tánaiste for it.

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