Deirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

My question refers to graduates in particular. The Minister mentioned three initiatives in his reply, two of them under the remit of Enterprise Ireland, namely, the graduate link which will place 50 graduates and the foreign placements programme under which 15 graduates are employed. Representatives of the USI appeared before a meeting of the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment yesterday, which is chaired by Deputy Penrose. We were told there are currently 100,000 unemployed graduates. The piecemeal figures the Minister has provided today are only a drop in the ocean in terms of what is required. Could he not use his imagination and initiative to extend the internship programme to ensure that organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors take on these graduates? A major investment that has been made in these people in terms of their education but the economy will be at the loss of many of them who will go aboard and many more of them depend on jobseeker's allowance.

These graduates are of value. Something can be done to assist them. The work placement programme could be extended. Can the Minister not have some ambition in this area? The relationship with FÁS in terms of the placing these people was described as abysmal by the representatives of USI yesterday, and I would agree with them.

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