Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 121: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the role his Department has in relation to tackling youth unemployment here and at EU level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26441/12]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The Government is tackling unemployment generally through the twin strategies of the Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work. The aim of the Action Pan for Jobs is to support the creation of 100,000 net new jobs by 2016, while the objective of Pathways to Work is to provide those who are unemployed with the appropriate training and skills to avail of the job opportunities which will arise as the economy recovers. Many young people will benefit from the opportunities provided through these programmes.

The 2012 Action Plan for Jobs contains over 270 measures to be delivered across all 15 Government Departments and 36 State agencies. My Department and its agencies play a central role in the delivery of approximately 60% of those measures, and have a supporting role in many other actions.

Pathways to Work includes various training, education and work experience initiatives delivered by the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Social Protection. Under Pathways to Work, the Department of Social Protection is committed to supporting over 85,000 job placement, work experience and Back to Education beneficiaries this year, including through the JobBridge internship programme. The Department of Education and Skills will provide over 450,000 education and training places this year across the range of provision in the higher education, further education and training sectors. These places will include provision for school leavers, although the long-term unemployed are a priority target.

The new €20 million Labour Market Education and Training Fund will also include specific provision for those under 25 years of age.

At EU level, in December 2011, the European Commission launched a "Youth Opportunities Initiative" in response to the growing problem of youth unemployment across the EU. The Commission's communique of 20 December 2011 set out a number of actions which will be financed directly by the Commission as part of the Initiative. These include measures to be supported by the European Social Fund and by the ERASMUS and Leonardo da Vinci programmes.The Department of Education and Skills is responsible for the management and operation of the European Social Fund in Ireland and for administering the ERASMUS and Leonardo da Vinci programmes.