Dan Boyle (Green Party)

While I do not disagree with the sentiments in the motion, having a debate of this nature allows the Government to explain its policy on the relevant issue which demands that we go through the same process every Wednesday. The contributions thus far have reflected this.

There is no doubt the unemployment rate is the economic indicator of greatest concern to everyone involved in public life. Unemployment is the consequence of economic collapse, the position of the public finances and the decline in economic growth and spending in the economy. It is also true that as and when the indicators improve and we restore growth and stability in the economy, unemployment will be the last indicator to improve. This may not occur until one year after signs of growth in the rest of the economy have emerged.

The motion is well framed in the sense that youth unemployment is of particular concern. Unemployment among young people has reached one third and anecdotal evidence — we need to address the lack of concrete evidence — indicates that many of these workers are semi-skilled and low skilled. Not only is it a matter of finding new jobs for such workers but also of ensuring that such workers are appropriately skilled for such jobs when they are provided.

The one ray of light in the restructuring of the economy in coming years is that we cannot go back to where we were; it cannot be a construction-based economy depending on semi-skilled and unskilled people. The Government's smart economy document points out the growth areas from where jobs will come, particularly in the green economy with retrofitting housing and utilising our natural resources for better energy generation. There is consensus in the House that this is the road to take but to do so we need training opportunities. Senator Ross has been a trenchant, and very often justifiable, critic of FÁS. However, we should not confuse governance issues and the misappropriation of public funds by that agency in recent years with the valuable work done by many of those who work for the agency in providing useful and necessary training. That is the road we need to take. FÁS, as the State agency with responsibility for this area, should be particularly directed by the Government to offer training opportunities in the areas outlined in the smart economy document, in particular in the green economy.

It must be acknowledged that we have a difficulty with third level education that will come to a head next year. It is unfortunate that it will be more difficult for new entrants to qualify for formal university education and degree courses offered in institutes of technology. This will create further pressure and will reduce the opportunities for people to be armed with appropriate skills for when the economy improves. We must use the other parts of the education sector more efficiently, in particular further education which provides opportunities to upskill and reskill people in one or two year courses that will meet evolving needs in the economy. The Government would do well to seek specific resources for this area in the coming years.

Senator John Paul Phelan is not in a position to respond but it is not helpful in a debate such as this to describe the Government's policy as being framed on emigration. That is a trite political charge thrown out from time to time. The nature of the difficulty we have with youth unemployment is that unlike in other recessions the country has suffered, emigration does not exist as a stop-valve. The economies to which young Irish people would have gone in previous generations are, if not equally then almost equally, in similar economic situations. The unemployment rate in the United States is 10% and the rate in the United Kingdom, while lower than ours, is still 8% or 9%.

While one third of those available for work in the 18 to 25 year old category are unemployed here, the overall statistic for youth unemployment in the 27 member states is 21.4%. The variations between various countries indicate how the problem is being dealt with elsewhere and we are far from the worst. Admittedly, the lowest is 7.6% in the Netherlands but the highest, in Spain, is 44%.