Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy will know, the issue of job creation has been the absolute top priority for the Government since we came to office. We have reduced the unemployment rate from heading towards 500,000 when we came into office and 15.2% at its peak to 9.3% this week. This week's figures indicate that youth unemployment has fallen below 20% for the first time since 2009.

We are now at or just below the European average. We are not resting on our laurels; we have a job of work to do. There is a lot of joined-up thinking. A major initiative from the Department of Education and Skills will now, through the new ETB structure that we have established, focus on apprenticeships. An additional €10 million has been allocated to that area. There are a lot of young people who do not see the pursuit of normal academic degrees as their future. When one looks at a very successful country like Germany, it highly values apprenticeships and give academic recognition to that. It is a path we are going to follow as well. I assure the Deputy that the issue of unemployment generally and youth unemployment in particular will continue to be the first objective of this Government.

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