Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for the reply but I do not know whether I am any the wiser. Perhaps when I read the record and see what has not been said, I will know. As the Minister well knows, the pledge of €6 billion by the European Union, welcome though it may be, is regarded as totally inadequate. Taking a pledge of €6 billion over a period of seven years, Ireland will receive a very small amount. It is estimated a properly funded youth guarantee scheme, along the lines of what exists in Sweden, under which the four month criterion is met, would cost anything between €300 million and €400 million. My second question to the Minister is whether the Government is prepared to commit the resources, together with what it receives from the EU, to increase the figure to whatever it costs to provide a fully blown youth guarantee scheme to everybody who is unemployed for a period of at least four months and when will the scheme be in place.

See this speech in context