Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am sure the Taoiseach appreciates the difficulty that arises from the fact that some of these questions were tabled prior to the European Council meeting on 14 and 15 March, in that we are now, almost two months later, trying to deal with them. I do not know how we can resolve that problem. However, the Taoiseach may recall that prior to that Council meeting he agreed in response to a question from me to raise the Jerusalem report, which was published by European diplomats. I was very pleased when the Taoiseach agreed to do that, yet in his reply he states that the Middle East peace process did not arise, which is another way of saying he did not put it on the agenda or he did not raise it. The Taoiseach may recall that these diplomats raised serious concerns about the actions of the Israeli Government in building settlements and excluding Palestinians from their land.

This has come from the heads of mission of the European Union, that the issue was not raised, contrary to the Taoiseach's commitment. My question was what actions had been taken on foot of the report, but if it was not even discussed, what is the point?

Has the Taoiseach raised within the European Council the recent Israeli attack in Syria? I am sure he agrees that this is a serious escalation of what is an increasingly dangerous, ongoing, deadly conflict in the region.

The meeting held six or seven weeks ago was about economic policy and dealt specifically with the issues of growth and job creation. There has been a reluctant acknowledgement that the policy of austerity is not working, but there is no evidence that this goes beyond the rhetoric and of any real change towards growth and job creation. Within the eurozone there are almost 20 million citizens out of work and 6 million young people across the European Union are out of work. Here, the level of youth unemployment is 30%, while it is 24% generally across the eurozone. Our 30% level of youth unemployment does not take account of the scores of thousands of young people who have had to leave for other parts of the world.

I have raised the issue several times with the Taoiseach that there are dire social consequences to the so-called austerity policy. This can be seen in the absence of young people from the kitchen table. In the Taoiseach's county it can be seen in the inability of senior teams to field a full panel. Travelling through rural Ireland, one sees how devastated communities are by the scourge of emigration. Was there an acknowledgement of any of this at the meeting? The sum of €6 billion allocated over six years to tackle youth unemployment is insulting. It is almost offensive and only a drop in the ocean compared to what is required. Last night the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste were engaged in discussions on the EU budget or the multi-annual financial framework. Was there a focus on the issue of youth unemployment?

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