Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have all been listening to the debates for the past few hours and weeks. I think we can all agree that the past few years have not been easy. We have had tough budgets.

This year is no exception. Every Department has had to make savings and cuts and the Department of Social Protection is no different. It had to make savings of €226 million this year which was no easy feat. Despite the cuts we have managed to maintain the State pension, the carer's allowance, the disability allowance and, despite what is said, all other core payments upon which people rely. Child benefit and the respite care grant have been protected.

Although we are not in the financial position we would like to be in, when we exit the bailout at the end of the year we will start to see a huge lift in our economy. That said, we still have a huge problem with emigration and with finding jobs and creating employment for young people. That was a big issue for me throughout the by-election. I like to think of myself as a young person. It is not too long since I was in my early twenties and I know how difficult it can be to be that age. Many things are going on in one's life, apart from work and education and upsets in those areas create hassle. This Government understands that.

I do, however, support the changes in jobseeker's allowance. For the most part people want to work. They want to educate themselves and to earn their own money. The changes in the allowance place a greater emphasis on work, training and educational supports, instead of focusing on income supports. It is right to reward those who make the effort to educate themselves further, either through work or education. The more people are at work, the sooner our economy will recover. I do not mind saying that I do not believe that a person who is 18 and has just left school should automatically be handed €144 without even trying to look for employment or going into further education or training, to learn a trade or a craft. I certainly did not receive that sum at that age.

Young people need to be ambitious and in this country they generally are. There is a time in all our lives when we can enjoy ourselves and not focus on serious things. I would prefer to be part of a government that creates an environment in which young people want to stay. Otherwise, they will emigrate, not because they are not getting enough money from the State but because there is nothing here for them to grab onto. We drive them away because we do not provide for their needs. The Minister for Social Protection has done a lot of work in the background, negotiating the youth guarantee, which will be introduced next year. There are many positive things in the budget for young people, despite what the Opposition says. With the matching funding next year from the EU a fund of at least €100 million will be pumped into youth employment initiatives.

That money will help us to develop opportunities that are already there for young people. We need to extend them. We will consider internships, new places on Tús schemes targeted at young people, and new places on JobBridge. The Department of Education and Skills will ring-fence at least 2,000 jobs. We are considering supports for the self-employed.

Irish people are ambitious but if they are not given the support to run with new ideas or new jobs they will find it impossible to fund themselves. Under the youth guarantee scheme we will incentivise employers to take on young people. Many positive initiatives are happening. We are far better off providing tools for the younger generation to go out and work for itself and make an input into society instead of creating a social welfare culture in which people do not help themselves or this country, and do not realise their full potential. I support the Bill.

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