Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. It would be churlish not to echo her enthusiastic response to the Central Statistics Office figures released this morning. Any reduction in the overall unemployment rate is to be welcomed and it is good to see that we are coming closer to the European average. Looking at our near neighbours in the United Kingdom, however, where the unemployment rate is a little over 7%, it is clear we still have a long way to go. Moreover, looking at the other side of the account book, so to speak, the numbers of young, talented people who continue to leave this country are a cause for concern. I hope the CSO figures to April of last year, which will be published in the coming months, will show a reduction in that outflow. The hope must be that the reduction in the unemployment figure is real and not simply an illusion created by continuing high levels of emigration.

In regard to the youth guarantee implementation plan, my colleague in the other House, Deputy Willie O'Dea, observed in a statement issued today:

One of the central planks of implementing the youth guarantee is having Intreo [in place], which is a new one-stop-shop for the unemployed where they can receive information on retraining and employment services, with offices [to be] established in towns and cities all over the country. [However] Cork city, for instance, has no Intreo office. How can the Government pledge to implement the youth guarantee with such a major part of the plan incomplete?

Deputy O'Dea points out that there are approximately 300 employment service officers, ESOs, in place in the Department of Social Protection to cater for the 315,000 people on the live register, equating to 1,000 people for every ESO. How can the Government promise to tackle youth unemployment with such a scarcity of resources?

I understand the Minister has admitted that the Department will be unable to provide training or unemployment for more than half of those aged under 25 on the live register. The National Youth Council of Ireland has pointed out that recent figures which do not include the data released today, show 41,453 young people have been on the live register for six months or more. On the basis of the Swedish figures, the council estimates it would cost €273 million to implement the youth guarantee in Ireland. Given that scale of funding, it is more likely the scheme will be phased in over several years.

I am interested in the Minister's view on the amount of money being allocated under the European Social Fund and how much of it the Department expects to secure. I understand that every €1 allocated from Europe under that programme must be matched by €1 from the Exchequer. I agree with the National Youth Council of Ireland's assessment that the youth guarantee scheme can work in this country. I also agree, however, that it must, as the council argues, be properly resourced to ensure we have sufficient high-quality education, training and job experience places and the staff to provide job counselling and guidance. There are question marks over these requirements. In addition, the council argues that the Government must provide job subsidies and incentives to employers to encourage them to take on young people under the scheme.

I confess that with so many initiatives being introduced, I am beginning to lose track of exactly what the protocols and requirements are in each case. In the case of JobsPlus, is there a time limit on placements or are they open ended?