Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. Much has been said about the changes in sections 9 and 10. We addressed them yesterday during the debate on Second Stage. I echo the words of Senator van Turnhout and welcome the Minister's assurance that she will return to the House to debate the detail of the youth employment initiatives which will be set out in the plan for the implementation of the youth guarantee. I was very taken with Senator Power's point that everybody in the House supports the youth guarantee. There is no doubt that we all want to see it work to ensure young jobseekers have access to the work, training and education supports they need. We are all agreed this is much more beneficial in the long-term than the jobseeker's allowance.

We welcome the Minister's commitment to finalise and submit the plans to the EU and that they will involve an increased range of enhanced opportunities to those on offer in the form of internships and so on. The Minister has given a commitment to increase the spend on work, training and education places and related supports available for young jobseekers. I will not rehearse again the figures supplied by the Department on the increased number of places available. I think we need to work together to ensure places are available in order that nobody is stuck on jobseeker's allowance when the majority want to be in work, training, education or work placements. I know the Minister is committed to that.