Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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157. To ask the Minister for Social Protection when the pilot youth guarantee scheme will commence in Ballymun, Dublin; the resources that have been allocated to this scheme; the length of time this scheme will run for; the number of young persons who will benefit from this scheme; the details of the consultation that have taken place with residents in relation to this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23086/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Under the EU Commission’s recent call for proposals for preparatory actions under the 'Youth Guarantee', the Department of Social Protection in conjunction with local groups has sought EU funding to pilot a Youth Guarantee Scheme in a local area. The pilot YGS will look to develop an activation approach tailored to the needs of young people in a deprived urban area and then test it within a specific geographical location (Ballymun).

It is intended that the pilot YGS will, in respect of the target group of young people, guarantee access to career guidance/assistance leading to identification of an individual career plan for the young unemployed person with follow-through to training, education, work experience or full-time employment. Depending on the needs of the young individual the steps in the career plan might include personal assessment, job search assistance, skills training, work experience internships, but the objective in all cases will be to lead the young person to employment placement or further education or training. A particular focus of the pilot YGS will be to involve, and build links with, employers in the locality and the immediate hinterland in order to ensure that the guidance and training elements of the YGS are tailored to the needs of the local labour market and also to generate work placement/experience opportunities for the YGS participants.

The European Commission is currently evaluating the high number of proposals received for the Youth Guarantee funding call for proposals. Due to technical constraints, the evaluation process is delayed. Nevertheless, we expect a finalisation of the evaluation process by June at the latest. The total cost of the project is EUR 302,279, we are seeking EUR 250,000 EU contribution. The project should start after signature of the grant agreement, expected within six months of the submission date. The duration of project will be 12 months maximum.

It is proposed that the principal target group for participants will be unemployed persons aged 18 to 24 years. It is proposed that the YGS will apply to an intake of c 90 young people per month drawn from two steams.

(i) Young people who are coming on to the Live Register during the period of the pilot and who are registering at the Ballymun office. We expect this cohort to be of the order 60 young people per month. The intervention will commence once the young person has established eligibility to a Jobseekers claim. Not all of the target cohort will require an intervention over and above an initial needs assessment.

(ii) It is also intended to target young people who have already been unemployed for some time. Currently, there are approximately 360 young people who are wholly unemployed and on the register in Ballymun for a year or more. This group will be targeted for intervention at a rate of c 30 per month over the life of the pilot. (In months where the intake of cohort (i) is less than 60 the intake of long term unemployed young people will be increased and vice versa).

The YGS will be developed through co-operation of all of the relevant stakeholders including the PES (DSP), education and training providers, voluntary and community groups, employers and youth organisations. As part of the bid for this funding the Department of Social Protection consulted with Ballymun Youthreach (CDVEC) Centre of Education Ballymun; Ballymun Job Centre/Local Employment Service Network; Ballymun Adult Read and Write Scheme; Ballymun Regional Youth Resource Limited; Ballymun Community Training Centre; Trinity Comprehensive School; Ballymun Youth Action Project Ltd.; The National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) and IBEC with a view to establishing a partnership as required by the terms of reference of the proposal.

The Local Implementation Team will comprise representatives of relevant stakeholders, including the Department of Social Protection, FAS, CDVEC, Ballymun Whitehall Area Partnership, Ballymun Job Centre/Local Employment Service Network, North Dublin Chamber of Commerce, Ballymun for Business, EQUAL Youth, and a representative young person (to be identified).