Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

326. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she has submitted plans to the European Commission for the roll out of the youth guarantee; if she will provide copies of these plans; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40394/13]

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

327. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the policy documentation she has produced related to the youth guarantee; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40395/13]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

407. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if it is possible to receive back to education allowance in respect of a level 9 third level course. [41083/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 326, 327 and 404 together.

The EU Council recommended that Member States should provide a Youth Guarantee which would ensure that all young people under the age of 25 years receive a good quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within a period of four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education. While it is recommended that the Youth Guarantee should be implemented as soon as possible, it is recognised that implementation will be more gradual in the Member States experiencing the most severe budgetary difficulties and higher rates of youth unemployment.

The Department of Social Protection has set up an interdepartmental Youth Guarantee Implementation Group with officials and programme managers from the Department of Education and Skills, Department of Jobs Enterprise and Innovation, and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. The terms of reference for this group are to review the current range of youth employment policies in Ireland to assess what measures will need to be taken to commence the implementation of the Guarantee. The Department of Social Protection has also requested the assistance of the OECD in developing the Youth Guarantee Policy.

It is intended to produce a concrete plan for the implementation of the Guarantee for consideration by the Government in December before being transmitted to the European Commission by the end of 2013. The earliest therefore that any policy documentation will be available for publication is December 2013.