Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

The primary objective of my Department is to ensure we have the right policies in place to support and grow our enterprise base to facilitate job creation and job retention. The work of the Department has been proven over the past five days with the announcement of 1,200 new jobs, including a major investment by the Intel corporation which had been sought worldwide.

The policies developed by this Government to accelerate and improve the transition of young people from education into the labour market are based on three main pillars, the first of which is to expand provision in the higher education sector, including full-time and part-time education places, and provide more flexible access to the education system. In 2011, it is expected that 170,000 full-time and part-time further education places and 156,000 full-time higher education places will be provided. The bulk of this provision is open to persons under 25 years of age where they meet the relevant criteria. The creation of a new €20 million higher education activation fund, announced last month by the Tánaiste, will extend the range of upskilling opportunities available for unemployed people.

The re-configuration of Departments announced by the Government in April 2010, which involves the merger of the FÁS public employment service and the benefits agency under the Department of Social Protection, will facilitate a more comprehensive and effective activation strategy that will strengthen the links between getting benefits, searching for a job and participating in employment and training programmes.

There is the enhancing of active labour market policies aimed at young people, including maintaining support for redundant apprentices; responding to the needs of low-skilled or semi-skilled young persons who have limited qualifications; and a strengthened framework of work experience opportunities through the introduction of the new skills development and internship programme and additional placements on the work placement programme.

In summary, the Government will continue to provide a diverse range of labour market activation provision to the unemployed, including those under 25 years of age. This will aim to keep young people active, close to the labour market and equipped to take up the employment opportunities anticipated under the Government's plans to generate 300,000 jobs through trade, tourism and investment by the end of 2015.

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