Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

-----but over the years the officials in the Department have been very understanding towards people in the acting profession who were unable to find work. As I said previously, where the period of unemployment becomes very extensive and their specific acting talents may not be in demand, it might be appropriate that they would consider either other fields or adjacent fields. I know some people will do that.

The first pilot initiative on youth unemployment is under way in Ballymun. We succeeded in having Ballymun as one of the test points for these new approaches in the European Union. That started at the beginning of the summer and is under way as we speak. My colleague in the Dáil, Deputy John Lyons, has been very involved in that. That will be an important learning experience for Ireland in terms of the way we bring together the resources in a range of Departments and offer opportunities to young people for whom social welfare dependency and social welfare income is the last resort. However, what we have to offer first are the education, the training, the experience and the employment.