Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Taoiseach. I imagine there are individuals who have had a positive experience but the shortfalls of the JobBridge scheme are now well documented. The intern posts displace existing work. They do not bring about real job creation. They depress wages and exacerbate unemployment. I imagine it would be a fruitful experience for anyone to work in the Taoiseach's Department. It would be a rewarding experience, particularly for a young person, but it is the question of what happens to them afterwards. We should remember that this State has the largest number of young people not in work, education or training throughout the EU. That is the reality of our youth unemployment figures.

An Seanadóir Kathryn Reilly has done a report, Youth Matters. I will send a copy to the Taoiseach if he has not read it. It examines critical youth issues, including the Youth Guarantee. There is little provision for young people with disabilities or lone parents or carers and the report examines this too.

JobBridge should be done away with. Sinn Féin has put forward suggestions on who we could be actively promoting JobsPlus, which is about getting people into employment via a scheme as opposed to for a temporary period as interns. Reference was made to what happens to them next. Does the Department of the Taoiseach track the young people who have been in the Department as interns? Can the Taoiseach give the Dáil some sense of how they got on afterwards and whether they got into meaningful employment with proper terms and conditions?

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