Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Labour Party Senators for introducing this Private Members' Bill. Fianna Fáil will be supporting its passage through the Houses but will be tabling amendments to it on Committee Stage. There is merit in this legislation in the context of the many issues currently affecting our young people. Countries across the developed world are increasing the age in respect of which children are legally obliged to remain in secondary education and for a number of reasons, some of which are pertinent in Ireland, including the high level of unemployment among young people. This is a difficulty being experienced by not only Ireland but across other countries in Europe, including Spain and other southern European countries. There are benefits to increasing the age limit in this regard from 16 years to 17 years, all of which have been well documented. Ensuring children remain in education for longer helps in tackling the issue of youth unemployment.

In 1972, the UK increased the age at which a student may leave secondary education to 16 years, at which time changes were also introduced here. The UK further increased the age in this regard to 18 years in an effort to tackle youth unemployment levels. According to reports youth unemployment among the under 25s in the UK is approximately 23%. I understand the percentage for Ireland in this regard is similar. In particular parts of Northern Ireland, youth employment is close to 50%. I recently read an article by Danny Blanchflower, a famous footballer, in which he said he expressed grave concern that the high level of youth unemployment in Northern Ireland could undo the good work of the peace process. The level of youth unemployment in some parts of Derry and Belfast is so high it is impacting negatively on communities. Any measure that supports young people must be welcomed.However, retaining young people at second level does not necessarily translate into greater opportunities for them and issues have emerged and will emerge such as the quality of education provided. I have read that in Spain the age until which a student was legally obliged to stay in school was raised, but what happened was that students who did not wish to be there retaliated and this led to an increase in the level of teacher absenteeism. Consequently, there are issues in this regard that must be challenged. It should not be a one-size-fits-all approach because certain pupils may not be academically inclined and may be more suited to apprenticeship programmes and so on. I look with envy at the Germans because of the way in which they have manufactured their apprenticeship programme. I remember that, as late as 2010, the construction sector was on the floor but building courses were still being offered by FÁS in County Donegal to young apprenticeship students. The system was not fit for purpose. Therefore, the apprenticeship programme as a whole must be considered. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice, in particular, has raised this issue in the other House and brought forward proposals in that regard. Those students, particularly male students, who may not be academically inclined must be provided with opportunities to excel in apprenticeship programmes. I note, for example, that Roy Keane, one of Ireland's most senior soccer internationals of all time and one of the best players in the world, came through a FÁS apprenticeship programme. There are sports apprenticeship programmes that could be made available. In this context, I note that the country has a massive obesity problem. The new SOLAS initiative is excellent, but it must make its apprenticeship programmes more attractive and fit for purpose. This challenge must be addressed in conjunction with this legislation.

Obviously, Ireland now operates in a global economy and the skill sets required are much greater than in the 1960s and 1970s when the age until which one stayed at school was much lower. This issue must be examined. The globalisation agenda and multinational corporations are driving the employment agenda worldwide, not just in Ireland, and Members must ensure graduates emerging from school or third level colleges are fit for purpose. As I mentioned, there are problems associated with raising the school leaving age, in that pupils who did not wish to stay in education might become disruptive. However, the recent ESRI report on school retention outlined that lack of access to high quality career guidance was detrimental to kids aged 16 and 17 years. The lack of such a service has been detrimental to many second level schools. While I am not being political on this issue, the move away from career guidance provision on anex quotateacher basis was incorrect and has had a major impact. I recall that when I sat the leaving certificate examination at 17 years of age, I did not have a clue about what I wanted to do and had it not been for the career guidance advice available in the school, I could have ended up anywhere.