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

The total of €64 million over two years is €32 million per year, and the Government has committed €14 million for the first year which, added to the €32 million amounts to €46 million. This is way short of what is required. Will the Minister indicate when a properly functioning youth guarantee scheme will be in place? On the previous occasion we had questions the Minister promised she would reduce the ratio. I thought the ratio was 800:1 but it is more than 1,000:1, which is farcical. Now she will reduce it to 500:1, which again is unworkable.

The last day she indicated that this reduction in the ratio was taking place immediately. When is that going to take place? Where are the staff going to come from? There have been indications from the Government that it does not have any budget to employ extra people to do this sort of case work for the unemployed. Will the Minister be taking them from elsewhere in the Department and if so, how will she make up for the deficiencies that will occur there?

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