Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

I congratulate Deputy Bruton and others on tabling this motion on the number one issue facing the country at this time. Deputies on both sides should raise this issue every day in order that we can ascertain precisely how we can address the human misery unemployment causes for such a large section of the population.

I went to school in the 1980s and attended college in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The terrible thing about that period was that we lost our best people, namely, the entrepreneurs and those who would naturally come to the top of any industry or profession they entered. Invariably, these individuals did not return to Ireland, even when the economy turned around in the late 1990s. The worst aspect of this from a social policy perspective is that the State, having made massive investment in primary, post-primary and third and fourth level education, will lose its brightest and most talented people to other parts of the world where they will help build other economies. The ESRI suggests 100,000 of these young people have already left our shores.

Two weeks ago, I spoke at the autumn conferrings in Cork which were attended by 600 highly talented people, most of whom had just completed four year degree courses. It is reckoned that if one does not work within two years of completing a four year degree, one loses the skills and experience acquired during one's studies. I plead with the Government, through this motion and the arguments we have made, to put in place something tangible for the 50,000 young people who graduated from college this year and are competing for jobs on the labour market with graduates from the previous year and perhaps earlier. These young people do not have any prospect of securing jobs.

We need a radical policy under which at least 20,000 places would be offered in the public and private sectors as part of a graduate recruitment scheme. The Government has produced three schemes which in sum total provide 1,700 places at a time of rampant youth unemployment, especially among graduates. We must keep young people in the economy. I do not suggest a graduate employment scheme would not cost money. Between €200 million and €250 million would be required for a graduate allowance to keep these young people in Ireland for two years. The Government should not tell me we do not have opportunities to achieve this objective in local authorities, the Civil Service, small and medium-sized enterprises and schools. Spending money on a graduate recruitment scheme would give young people an opportunity to stay in this country. Something big, bold and ambitious is required to allow large numbers of young people to remain here.

Despite all of the gloom, we must remember that 1.8 million people are still at work in the economy, virtually double the figure of ten years ago. It is crucial, therefore, that we have a strategy to protect all of those who are still in work. This will require removing red tape, bureaucrats and other elements which stand in the way of creating and sustaining jobs. Our primary national objective must be to sustain every single job. We must protect jobs, rather than standing in the way of job creation.

As I travel around the country, I often hear small business people describe an obsessive culture among public servants in State agencies which stands in the way of job creation and protection. This is the most important task ahead if we are to turn the country around, give hope and ensure we do not have another lost generation, as we had in the 1980s.

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