John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

All we have are the figures in front of us. Some of the most recent figures released by Focus Ireland show the impact of cuts to the under-26s. I am interested in the rates because they are having a direct impact on youth homelessness. If one looks at the figures that have been published by Focus Ireland and other organisations they show that young people are more at risk of homelessness. That is a result of numerous measures including the cuts to jobseeker's payments. The Minister's Government sent back €30 million in European funding for a youth guarantee, which was a specific initiative to get young people back to work. I question the Minister's sincerity in trying to ensure that young people get back to work when the Government handed back €30 million of funds that could have been directly accessed to get these people back to work. Sinn Féin is committed to reversing some of these cuts, particularly the cuts to young people. We have committed to a €40 increase in jobseeker's payment for the under-26s in our budget submission.

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