Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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651. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she wil report on the progress of Ireland's application for funding under the youth employment initiative, the closing date for which is approaching in October 2013. [38089/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) for Ireland will be delivered as part of the new European Social Fund Operational Programme (ESF OP) 2014-2020. This Operational Programme (OP) is currently in the early stages of preparation under the leadership of the Department of Education and Skills. This will involve a consultation phase and negotiations with the European Commission and factoring in the outcomes of the Partnership Agreement process led by DPER. However, at this point, the European Parliament and the European Commission have yet to reach an agreement on the qualifying criteria for funding from the YEI and this is delaying the application for funding. It is anticipated that the OP will be advanced to completion by early 2014.

Implementation plans of each Member State in relation to the Youth Guarantee will have a bearing on their ability to access funding from the YEI. In addition to, and concurrent with our work on the ESF OP, an interdepartmental working group is currently preparing the Implementation Plan for the Youth Guarantee which, when approved by the government, will be submitted to the European Commission at the end of this year. In terms of preparation for implementation, we sought funding from the European Commission (€250,000) for a proposed pilot Youth Guarantee project in the Ballymun area. I am pleased to say that our submission was one of those approved by the Commission for funding and the Ballymun project will commence in October.

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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652. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if her Department has engaged with the business, education and youth-work sectors in the possible design and operation of programmes to be funded from the EU's youth employment initiative. [38090/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Government is now reviewing the current range of youth employment policies in Ireland to assess what measures will need to be taken to commence the implementation of the Youth Guarantee. It is intended to produce a concrete plan for the implementation of the Guarantee before the end of 2013. The Government, through an interdepartmental implementation group is working with all relevant sectors to maximise the impact of a Youth Guarantee in Ireland. The Department of Social Protection set up this interdepartmental group with officials and programme managers from the Department of Education and Science, Department of Jobs Enterprise and Innovation and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to develop this plan. These Departments consult with relevant sectors on a regular basis in relation to the programmes and services for which they have responsibility. It is also planned to have a round of such consultation before finalising the implementation plan.

In terms of a starting point for the design and operation of programmes to be funded from the EU youth employment initiative, the Department of Social Protection has obtained funding from the European Commission (€250,000) for a pilot Youth Guarantee project in the Ballymun area. On the National Steering Group for the Ballymun pilot are representatives from the business (IBEC), education (FAS\VECs) and youth-sectors (National Youth Council of Ireland). Experience gained from this pilot project is being used in part to inform the design of the national Youth Guarantee project.