Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The only category we put all young people in is the fact they are all aged between 18 and 25. There is no basis for thinking they all live at home, that they all have green hair or that they all have four ears. The only category they are in is they are aged between 18 and 25. The targeted measure, aimed at protecting young people from welfare dependency, is to incentivise them to avail of the education and training opportunities that are there in order that they can improve their chances of getting a full-time and sustainable job. I do not see what is wrong with this. I cannot really understand why the Deputy thinks asking young people to train and re-skill themselves is a problem. To show the Deputy it is not prescriptive and that we genuinely do not think they are all the same, there are rates of payment that can be achieved and a full rate of payment for people aged under 26, such as anybody who has a qualified child or is transferring from jobseeker's allowance immediately after exhausting their benefits. There are a number of categories in which people between the ages of 18 and 25 can avail of a full payment, but the absolute easiest way for anybody in that category who is not lucky enough to have a job, that is, the 13% of our young people who are still looking for work, to avail of the €198 per week from 26 March is to go on a training course, go back to education or engage with the Intreo services so we can help them to find a full-time and sustainable job.

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