Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

The Minister, Deputy Ruarí Quinn, Deputy Seán Crowe and perhaps other Members of the House attended various teachers' conferences last week at which one of the major issues about which we heard was unemployment among graduates. We all know of the need to ensure that where job opportunities arise, people who are not retired and are genuinely seeking employment are given first refusal. The concern about employment opportunities is not just among graduates of teacher training colleges or those who have completed their bachelor of arts degrees but among all graduates. I welcome the Minister of State's reference to the specific provision of 15,000 places in the jobs initiative to be announced next week. Are these 15,000 places additional to the ones announced by the then Tánaiste in budget 2011?

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