Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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4. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons under the age of 26 years now in receipt of reduced jobseeker's allowance; if this change has reduced the number of persons unemployed under the age of 26 years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17794/14]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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I am sorry that the question is somewhat ambiguously drafted. I will explain what I am trying to ascertain. It relates to the substantial reduction in social welfare payments to people under the age of 26 on the basis that they should be encouraged to apply for jobs or training places. I am trying to ascertain how successful the change has been.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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There were 300,590 recipients of jobseeker’s allowance at the end of December last year. Up to 100,000 of those were working part time or signing for credits and the number has fallen significantly since. Reduced rates for younger jobseeker’s allowance recipients were first introduced when Deputy O'Dea was a member of Government in 2009. Budget 2014 further extended the reduced rates of jobseeker’s allowance to recipients under 26 years of age.

The decision was made on foot of ongoing consideration of unemployment and incentives policy by the Government. The measure aims to incentivise young jobseeker’s allowance recipients to avail of education and training opportunities. A jobseeker in receipt of the reduced jobseeker’s allowance rate who participates in an education or training programme will receive a higher weekly payment of €160. Some 4,700 individuals under 26 years of age are entitled to a reduced rate of jobseeker’s allowance on SOLAS funded training courses. More young jobseekers, approximately 5,000, are also attending other courses operated by the education and training boards such as the vocational training opportunities scheme, VTOS, and Youthreach.

At the end of March 2014 there were 57,900 jobseeker’s allowance recipients under 26 years of age, of which 36,800 were in receipt of a reduced jobseeker’s allowance payment. The equivalent figures for December 2013, before the introduction of the Budget 2014 measures, was 65,400 because, thankfully, the rate of youth unemployment is falling significantly. We want to incentivise young people not to end up trapped on social welfare but to take opportunities for education and training, and to take up employment where it is available, which would pay them infinitely more. That was the reasoning behind the Deputy's Government introducing this measure in 2009.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

Some 39,400 of those 65,400 jobseeker’s allowance recipients under 26 years of age in December 2013 were in receipt of a reduced jobseeker’s payment. When allowance is made for seasonal factors, the trend in the number of young people on the live register has been in line with the trend for the register overall in the early part of 2014. However, the impact of changes like this is likely to be gradual rather than immediate, and will need to be monitored over time.

In order to incentivise young jobseekers to avail of education and training opportunities and try to avoid them becoming welfare dependent from a young age, the changes made to Jobseeker’s allowance rates in 2009 were extended in budget 2014. This decision was made to encourage young jobseekers to improve their skills and to ensure that they are better placed to avail of a future employment opportunity. A cornerstone of the Government’s strategy to tackle youth unemployment will be the implementation of the youth guarantee, which will ensure that young people receive a quality offer of assistance within four months of becoming unemployed. This objective is to be achieved over time by enhancing the Intreo engagement with newly unemployed young people, and by maintaining and developing the current range of education, training and employment interventions for young people. The youth guarantee is already being piloted in Ballymun involving a partnership of key national and local stakeholders. The findings from this pilot, which is being mainly funded by the European Commission, will feed into the national roll-out of the guarantee.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for the history lesson, but let me elaborate on her knowledge of history. Under the old scheme as introduced by the previous Government, if somebody was unable to access a training or education place, his or her social welfare was not reduced; now it is automatically reduced and that is the fundamental difference. There were many people under the age of 26 who could access employment, education or training. If they accessed education or training they would be better off so it was an incentive. In a reply to a parliamentary question of mine on 8 April, last week, the Minister told me that people between 16 and 25 who are in neither employment, education or training number 85,200. That is 85,200 young people, one in six people under the age of 26, who are neither earning nor learning. Will the Minister accept that the changes in the budget provided no incentive? If she does not, can she tell me how many people they incentivised? Does she accept that the changes in the budget were simply a device to cut the social welfare bill?

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Who said the following?

In order to incentivise young people to avail of training and education opportunities and to prevent their becoming welfare-dependent from a young age, changes have been made to the jobseeker's allowance. This decision is not discriminatory but rather a targeted measure aimed at protecting young people from welfare dependency.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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The difficulty is that the budget change was presented as a measure whereby if a person under the age of 26 could not get a job there would be a place in training or education readily available which he or she could avail of and get an increased allowance, 60% more in most cases. However, there are not enough training or education places for the young unemployed. By the Minister's admission last week, 85,200 people under the age of 26 are neither earning nor learning. How many training places are being made available for those people? Is it not true to say that many of them, including many who have been unemployed for more than four months, cannot access a place in training or education and that in those circumstances it is grossly unfair to cut their social welfare?

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Fianna Fáil-led Government introduced this measure.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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No, I did not.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Deputy must have been sitting at the Cabinet table at the time.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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On a point of order, we introduced an entirely different measure.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I quoted the then Minister. The Deputy was in the Cabinet.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Hear, hear.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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I do not want the Minister to mislead the House. We introduced an entirely different measure whereby if one could not access a course one's social welfare did not reduce.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Ah now, Willie.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Amnesia is all the rage in Fianna Fáil. Sometimes I wonder if they even remember the bank guarantee.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Yesterday somebody said the Labour Party is reduced to lying openly in the House.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Deputy should withdraw that if he is implying it about me.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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He should.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I quoted from his colleague as Minister. I suggest he withdraw his remark. I quoted the record of the House.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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I will withdraw it on the basis that the Minister withdraws her assertion that the scheme she is introducing is exactly the same as the scheme we introduced. It is not.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I never said that.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister used it in defence of her arguments, therefore she is implying it.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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On a point of order, the Deputy opposite made an accusation of lying and should withdraw it unconditionally, with none of that smart aleck talk.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I will handle this. The Deputy has withdrawn his allegation. That is fine.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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I made no assertion.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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He did.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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I simply quoted somebody who said-----

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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When the word "lying" is used that is the supposition so I ask the Deputy to withdraw it.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Correct.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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I withdraw it on the basis that the Minister withdraws her assertion that the two schemes are exactly the same.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I am not sure what the Minister-----

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I quoted from the Deputy's colleague when he was a Minister, then Minister and Deputy, Mary Hanafin. It is a straight quote from an answer to a parliamentary question.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Does the Minister accept that the schemes were different? The Minister quoted it out of context.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Some 105,650 places are being provided in 2014 including 6,000 by Youthreach and 7,700 by JobBridge. I could read them all but I will sent the Deputy the table. We anticipate and hope that an additional 28,000 young people will take up further courses this year. It is all set out in the table.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Send it to me.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Send it in large print.