Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The point the Deputy made on activities outside those that are core is very interesting because the Tánaiste and I met a number of people working in national youth services recently to discuss what they can do to support Government actions on youth unemployment. There is a focus on that post pandemic. We are seeing unemployment rates come down, which is very important, but there is a group of young people who are very distant from further and higher education or employment. A youth service is often the first engagement they have with any sort of State supports. They will not go into an Intreo office or to a social welfare office but if you get them into a youth service you can then talk to them about soft skills and, possibly, putting a CV together, just in case. That initial engagement can be very important in getting them that first job and getting something on their CV that builds their confidence. We are looking at how we can support those services to work in areas outside their core activities and thus broaden the influence of youth services in the country.

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