Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the actions he has taken to promote employment creation in Ireland and in Europe in the course of Ireland's presidency of the EU Council. [18656/13]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Stability, jobs and growth are the central themes of the Irish Presidency of the European Union. The issue of employment creation is one that is challenging all member states across the Union. During our Presidency we have made progress in a number of areas that can create the right environment for growth and employment. For example, agreement has been reached on the youth guarantee which promises to provide young people with a good quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within four months of becoming unemployed. The European Globalisation Fund co-finances education and training support programmes for redundant workers. The Irish Presidency will continue to progress the draft regulation governing a new funding round for the period 2014 to 2020. Work is also continuing to obtain agreement on the European Union's new €70 billion research programme, Horizon 2020, including the €6.6 billion for key enabling technologies programmes and the proposed €2 billion programme for competitiveness and SMEs, COSME. I will be looking for every opportunity to further the interests of Irish and other SMEs and ensure they can extract the greatest possible benefit from the funding available under these programmes, particularly with regard to expanding the scope for participation in research and innovation activity. Deputies will also be aware that Innovation Fund Ireland and the microfinance fund are part of the measures within the Action Plan for Jobs and these are helping Irish companies to access finance in the current difficult environment.

Together with Government colleagues, I am also working to create a genuine digital single market by building confidence in cross-border transactions and services, including reform of data protection measures and providing a pan-European framework for e-signatures. I will continue to fully engage in the development of the European Union's common commercial policies, which I believe provides a strong stimulus for growth and job creation. Completing the trade agreement with Canada and launching the US negotiations would be an important step in boosting exports. Next week I will host an informal meeting of EU competitiveness and research Ministers in Dublin, the focus of which will be measures to increase employment in the SME sector, including improving access to finance. The recent agreement on the draft accounting directive will see a reduction of the administrative burden on firms.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I ask the Minister to outline the implementation procedure for the youth guarantee. Will his Department or the Department for Social Protection be the lead Department? More importantly, where is the budget line for the implementation of the guarantee? What is the current position on COSME? Is an agreement on a budget for it imminent? At the beginning of the Irish Presidency in January the Minister, the Taoiseach and others put great store in the fact that the Presidency would be a jobs-related one. We are now in the final months of the Presidency, or the final stretch of the marathon. How many jobs will have been created across Europe and here in Ireland as a result of Presidency initiatives?

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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One should consider the potential of the US trade agreement. If it can be negotiated and successfully launched, the figures indicate that 500,000 jobs could be created across the European Union and, proportionately, 4,000 in Ireland. Obviously, this will take time to deliver. Similarly, completion of the trade agreements with Japan and Canada will be significant in terms of job creation. These agreements could lead to the creation of 2 million jobs in Europe. The completion of the digital market has been estimated to have had a very significant impact. A figue of up to 4% of GDP could be generated by having an effective digital market. Many of these initiatives have associated job targets, but they tend to be longer term, pending completion of a range of measures.

A fund of €6 billion has been earmarked for the youth guarantee scheme for the 2014-20 period. As the fund is for areas such as apprenticeships and job placement, the primary initiative will be with the Departments of Education and Skills and Social Protection. COSME has a budget of just over €2 billion and a formal set of proposals will be developed.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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We have been talking about this issue since the formation of the current Dáil. We are seeing a lost generation of young people leaving our shores. People have referred to the reduced voter turnout in the Meath East by-election, but if one looks at the statistics, one will see that approximately 5% of the electorate have left the constituency owing to emigration. This shows how serious the jobs issue is.

Will funding for the youth guarantee scheme be dependent on the European Union? When will the scheme happen and is the Government of a mind to push ahead with a youth guarantee scheme if there is no EU funding or if there is a waiting period? We made a strong point at the joint committee that a youth should not just be provided with training and reactivation programmes but that a job should be part of the opportunity.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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A job.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Yes. It should not just be about putting people on schemes but actually getting people back to work.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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Over 40,000 jobs have been lost in the retail sector since 2008 which shows that there is a direct link between the reduction in disposable income and job losses in the domestic economy. It is not a phenomenon that is peculiar to Ireland. Austerity has had a massive impact on the level of youth unemployment across Europe. The retail sector has traditionally been a great outlet for young people to start off in jobs. There was a time when it also provided a secondary job for many women. It is now becoming a primary occupation and source of income for many households. Will the Minister admit that as long as austerity continues, it will be difficult for the retail sector to recover and job losses to be reversed?

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The European Union has set aside money for the youth guarantee scheme. It might be better for Deputies to table questions to the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, on the operation of the scheme. I understand programmes will be developed at EU level, with national governments seeking to develop initiatives within programme guidelines. As always, EU funds will be supplemented by national contributions in the draw-down. The Minister for Social Protection can give Deputies additional data on the development of the scheme.

The retail sector is, undoubtedly, a very important employer. The Government has shown that it is alert to the needs of the sector through cuts in PRSI and VAT, the readjustment of wage settlement mechanisms, its new initiative to get businesses to go online and the initiative of the Minister of State, Deputy John Perry, to reform licensing arrangements for retail businesses. Deputy Mick Wallace is correct that a recovery in demand is crucial and the Government has been building a sustainable basis on which to rebuild the economy. That involves correcting the public finances, as well as an expansion into export markets and building employment. We are seeing the creation of, on average, 1,000 jobs per month in the private sector. We are building a strong economy which can support a retail sector. It is work in progress and a great deal remains to be done.