Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her response. Previously, I raised the same issue with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, at the Committee on Budgetary Oversight. He seemed rather surprised by the fact that I had pointed out to him that the figure would stay the same over a number of years.

I appreciate there is a certain point which traditionally constitutes full employment. I agree with the Minister's point in that regard. However, I am concerned that many of the people affected are construction workers who are unable to re-enter the industry when they come back on-stream. Others affected may be young people who graduated from school or college at precisely the wrong economic time. Such people are trapped in what we call long-term unemployment. This is reflected in the higher rate of youth unemployment and the fact that over half of those unemployed are categorised as long-term unemployed. These are the people to whom I was adverting. My concern is that they will be left behind if the projections indicate the same rate for four of five years. It is important to find new ways to get these people back into the workforce. Does the Minister have any specific initiatives aimed at the two particular groups – those in the youth unemployment and long-term unemployment categories?

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