Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I recognise that people in the 15 to 34 age group have been seriously affected by job losses in recent years. The latest quarterly national household survey shows that in spite of the creation of an additional 61,000 jobs in the economy in the year to the end of 2013, employment among 15 to 34 year olds decreased by 13,800 year on year. We clearly have a long way to go but in the past year employment increased by 3.3% and it was the first year where every region demonstrated employment growth. There has been an increase of more than 1,200 jobs per week in the private sector compared with more than 1,600 per week being lost in that earlier period. Clearly, the best way to address the needs of this age group is to continue our efforts to support job creation and help those who are unemployed to get back to work. The Government continues to work on those twin objectives through the combined efforts of Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work.

A number of actions in both strategies are targeted at, or amenable to, younger people. These include the JobBridge programme, the youth guarantee, MOMENTUM and Springboard training courses, and the ICT Action Plan. These initiatives are collectively delivered by the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Education and Skills. The Government is taking steps to increase the number of places and make other enhancements to those schemes for younger people, where possible. For instance, Action Plan for Jobs includes a commitment to ring-fence 2,000 places on the MOMENTUM programme for those under 25 years of age.

For my Department’s part, we are putting a particular focus this year on supporting entrepreneurship and will increase the range of supports available to entrepreneurs, including young entrepreneurs. We know that start-up businesses create two thirds of all new jobs and we need to support people with good ideas who can create those jobs. Action Plan for Jobs 2014 also places a focus on supporting the recovery of the domestic economy in areas such as construction, retail and tourism where there is potential for significant jobs growth as the economy recovers.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

As a Government, we recognise that too many people, including younger people, have yet to see evidence of economic recovery in their own lives. That is why we have designated 2014 to be the year for jobs. All of the actions we are taking are aimed at supporting people to enter or re-enter employment, and at providing alternatives for those who might be considering emigration.

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