Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

The Government is not even scratching at the surface. Some 40,000 young Irish people emigrated in the past 12 months. In the past six months, some 400 places have been added to the job placement programme, which is simply not adequate. If we want to retain our talent at home, the Government needs to be much more ambitious in this area and not just trot out those statistics and ignore the fact that we are leaching the most talented people out of this country, when they are the key to building a stronger economy. It is cost-effective to develop initiatives for internships and work experience on a much more ambitious scale.

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