Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The rate of youth unemployment in this country is rampant at 26% and is double the average rate of 13%. Once more, young unemployed people were overlooked in the recent budget. There was a great opportunity to redress the position regarding the drastic reduction in their social protection income supports introduced in budget 2014. I am of the view that this matter should have been given priority in the context of budget 2015 and the Bill before the House. Those in the 18 to 21 age group who are unemployed are obliged to live on a jobseeker's payment of €100 per week. That is a pittance. Those aged between 22 to 24 receive a payment of €144 per week. These reduced rates of payment were introduced in last year's budget to incentivise young people to seek appropriate and suitable employment or to return to education or training. The kernel of the problem in this regard is the absolute lack of jobs. Motivation is not the central issue for young people who are seeking work. Reducing the level of support available to these individuals is providing them with a further reason for joining their friends who left the country in droves in recent years to seek employment.

We are all well aware that every parish organisation is feeling the pinch, including sports teams. GAA, rugby and soccer clubs and all community groups are feeling the effect. If anything, it has accelerated the exodus of the youngest and more vibrant from their homeland. Those concerned cannot subsist on the pittance they receive given the rising cost of living. Many of them are caught in a poverty trap because, if they opt to leave the country, they do not have the necessary finance. In many cases, they cannot even choose to move abroad with their friends. Travel costs are beyond them in many cases and they do not have the money to survive for a couple of weeks when seeking work abroad.

There is a need to prioritise this cohort of unemployed youth and give them meaningful access to decent employment. This requires a number of steps. First, the focus must be on the creation and maintenance of decent jobs. It is not in the interest of the unemployed or country as a whole to have low salaries for very precarious work, which is happening at present. Second, every effort must be made to liaise with unemployed people in order that they can secure access to proper employment, including through the provision of good information and advice services. The work with employers undertaken by the Department of Social Protection and through the labour market council must be built on to create real access points, especially for the long-term unemployed. Third, a greater effort must be made to maximise the potential of employment programmes. Many are concerned about the effectiveness and appropriateness of many of the schemes. Many unemployed people have raised concerns with me that JobBridge is basically displacing those in paid employment and reducing people's chances of finding a meaningful job. Others are concerned about the low progression rate from schemes such as community employment schemes. We are well aware, however, that such schemes are very valuable and are underpinning many of the social services in communities. That said, there needs to be progression to more permanent employment when one is finished on a social employment scheme.

Child poverty is on the rise. Research has demonstrated that addressing this issue requires better income supports for families and also public services, including affordable and high-quality early child care and education services. The child benefit increase and the introduction of the back-to-work family dividend are welcome, certainly after a continual stream of austerity measures. The reality, however, is that the €5 increase will only offset in a minor way the series of cuts encountered over recent budgets. For instance, child benefit has been cut in recent years from a peak of €166 or €203 per month per child to the current rate of just €130.

The back-to-work family dividend will help families moving off social welfare into employment and will go some way towards making work pay. It will address the loss of benefit, but one must consider that the average weekly cost of a child care day place in a crèche is €167. Only €29 is provided under the back-to-work dividend scheme and it is making only a small contribution to those concerned. We should try to address this in the Finance Bill.

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