John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister's predecessor, the Taoiseach, gave an insight into the thinking behind this payment at a social protection committee meeting. He said that young foreign people come to these shores, get off aeroplanes and are able to find themselves a job, and asked what our young people are doing. There is a train of thought within Government circles that our young people are lazy, are sitting at home on PlayStations and are not willing to get out and work, which is a disgusting view. That is the root of this ideological position. It is not about what is working. Unemployment levels are down across the board.

I have welcomed the YESS initiative, but this discrimination has to end. I asked about the report that was committed to under the pathways to work strategy. It was supposed to have been produced three years ago. The Minister has said this policy is working, but is not backing that up with her commitment to produce and publish that report. Saying the report will be published in the near future is not satisfactory because I have been told that every time I ask the question.

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