Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this issue, which is undoubtedly very important. Her comments may be based on a misunderstanding. What she describes as seven priorities actually referred to what we had in the 2013 action plan, which were described as disruptive reforms. They were catalysts in particular areas that had a cross-sectoral potential to impact jobs. They included things like "Big Data", ICT skills, trading on-line and so on. They were not categories of need or sectors. They looked at opportunities that could drive change across a range of sectors.

The action plan for jobs had a substantial section dealing with Pathways to Work, which is the scheme run primarily by the Minister for Social Protection. That is a very substantial programme which seeks to reduce unemployment right across the board. Very substantial investments in that programme are already in place. JobBridge has 6,000 participants, 3,000 of which are under 25. Among those under 25, there are 12,000 on FÁS courses, 6,500 on Back to Education and VTOS courses, 6,000 on Youthreach courses and 1,250 on Momentum. There are 28,000 special provisions being made to deal with youth unemployment before yesterday's budget announcement. The Minister indicated that she plans to increase that in the context of the youth guarantee, and I saw a figure of 4,500 additional places quoted in her comments.

The philosophy of this Government is to see young people under 25 on the dole as a bridging period, where the thrust of what are seeking to do is to develop opportunities for young people. That is why if people take up courses like Momentum or Back to Education, they will get additional payment but more importantly, they will get a really valuable opportunity. We are in the fortunate position compared to the last five years in that our economy is now creating employment. Last year, 39,000 jobs were created in the private sector. Our ambition is to make sure that young people get access to more of them.

The Senator is absolutely right to say that one of the big casualties of this recession has been young people. The traditional catch-22 of not having experience has often meant that where jobs have been created, they are not getting opportunities. That is why JobBridge and Springboard course are such important programmes, as they provide practical on-the-job experience which breaks that catch-22. Their placement rates are very impressive, with over 60% from JobBridge.

We are open for submissions at the moment in the action plan for 2014. We have received a substantial number of submissions. It is correct to say that one of the things we need to examine is to build a bridge between the activity around the youth guarantee and the enterprise sector. One of the issues that we will be examining is how to make sure that the schemes we have put in place - the most recent is the €72 per week subsidy for any employer who takes on a person who is a year out of work, be they young or old - get a strong take up and are relevant to industries. It is a similar case with the Momentum and Springboard courses. I work very closely with the Minister for Education and Skills and the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, to make sure that there is a fit between the emerging sectors that are doing well in the economy and the training and work experience that they are providing. I think we can look to build stronger bridges in that area. We are not as fortunate as countries like Germany, where there is a strong tradition of companies having traineeship places which they maintain in good times and in bad times. That tradition is not as strong in Ireland, but we need to build those bridges between people who are out of work and enterprise. The other area we are really excited about is entrepreneurship and the potential for more enterprise. Mr. Sean O'Sullivan is working on an entrepreneurship strategy and within that, we will be looking at the at the scope for initiatives specifically targeted at youth start-ups for 2014.

While I understand that there will always be a certain amount of political overplay in the comments being made, the Senator raises a very important issue and there are bridges to be built here. There is real potential and if the Senator wishes to make submissions for the 2014 plan, we will look seriously at any comments, through Forfás. There is a certain division of labour between what I do, which is essentially related to enterprise, and what the Minister for Social Protection does, which is essentially about Pathways to Work. We are trying to make sure that the bridges between those two are forged in a strong fashion.