Fiach MacConghail (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit McGinley anseo sa Teach. I also acknowledge the response by the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton and do not doubt her bona fides, sincerity or idealism. I applaud to a great extent the JobBridge programme of which I have personal experience. Broadly speaking, the spirit of what it seeks to achieve is commendable and worth praising.

I welcome the Sinn Féin motion and the opportunity to continue to highlight the ever increasing scar on society. The Minister acknowledged this in her contribution when she said that long spells of unemployment have a permanent scarring effect on a person's life. The statistics and the points which have been highlighted in the Sinn Féin motion are stark and dispiriting. It is true, in fairness, that the Government has prioritised youth unemployment as an issue to be addressed during the Irish Presidency of the European Union. I commend the Government's role under Ireland's Presidency that the European Union has agreed a recommendation for a youth guarantee. As has been explained earlier, each member state should guarantee each unemployed person, under the age of 25 years, a job, training or education opportunity within four months of registration with the employment services. At present, the youth guarantee is supported by the allocation of €6 billion at EU level under the multi-annual financial framework. I understand from the Government's amendment to the motion that Ireland has applied for advance funding as part of an EU pilot initiative to support the implementation of a youth guarantee project in Ballymun. I also noted from the Minister's comments that she is talking to other organisations such as IBEC and the National Youth Council of Ireland. As there is no indication in her contribution, what is the timeline for this pilot scheme? Will it happen this year or in 2014? The Minister said it is intended to produce a concrete plan for the implementation of the guarantee before the end of 2013. That says very little. What I think it means is that a plan will be established in 2013 but maybe the pilot scheme will not start until 2015 or 2016. I seek clarification on that issue.

I do not want to get bamboozled with the various sets of data and figures that Sinn Féin and the Government amendment have put forward. However, whatever we agree on, even if it shows a decrease, the number of unemployed young people under 25 years of age is too high. The Government contends that the figure has fallen at about 30%. However, we have still the fifth highest rate of youth unemployment in Europe after Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy. That has not changed. Some 80% of the young are not in education, employment or training making us the fourth highest in the EU. These figures are stark. I do not want to slice and dice them but commend Sinn Féin for acknowledging and bringing them forward in this debate.

I am disappointed that in the Government's amendment and the Minister's contribution there is no mention of emigration. This is the elephant in the room. Its omission in the amendment is symbolic of the abuse we all feel when speaking of emigration.

The scar repeats itself from generation to generation. It is disappointing that the word was not mentioned by the Government in the Minister's speech or the amendment.