Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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280. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if as outlined in the Irish Youth Guarantee Plan published on 29 January 2014, her plans to reduce the minimum duration of unemployment required for young persons to be eligible for participation in momentum; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18837/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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MOMENTUM, a scheme for education and training interventions, which is part of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs initiative, was rolled out by the Department of Education in 2013. MOMENTUM supported the provision of free education and training projects in 2013 to allow up to 6,500 long term jobseekers to gain skills and to access work opportunities in identified growing sectors. Over 1,600 of these places were taken up by young people in 2013 up to mid-November.

A further range of MOMENTUM projects is planned for 2014, and it is intended that a minimum of 2,000 of these MOMENTUM places will be taken up by young people.

In the Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan published in January 2014, it was noted that there may be grounds for reducing the minimum duration of unemployment required for young people to become eligible for the programme. A decision on this will be subject to a review of experience with MOMENTUM in 2014 – in particular in relation to achieving the target for participation by young people in the programme.