Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

He did not answer my question. If the Tánaiste is as serious about youth unemployment as he says he is, then why does the 2014 action plan for jobs not include youth unemployment? Why has the Government not tackled youth emigration as a priority? During Ireland's EU Presidency the Tánaiste claimed that the Youth Guarantee scheme was one of his big ideas. Yet in the budget a miserable €14 million was put into that scheme, while it sliced €32 million from young people's income support. That is a net loss of €18 million.

The Taoiseach and Minister for Social Protection can pirouette around Paris to their heart's content but the fact is that the Youth Guarantee scheme is falling apart. Will the Tánaiste acknowledge that it will not bring forward the promised upskilling or the provision of employment and education opportunities for young people? If it is a priority, why is it not in the Government's jobs plan for 2014?

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