Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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103. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide the up to date statistics for youth unemployment; the progress in addressing this issue; the position regarding the availability of sufficient finances for the youth guarantee scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41706/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Continuing progress is being made in addressing both the rate and duration of youth unemployment. CSO data shows that the youth unemployment rate in the second quarter of 2014 had fallen from 33% in mid-2012 to 27% or 25% when seasonally-adjusted. The number of young people unemployed has fallen by 23,400 from 76,000 to 52,600 over the same period.

There has also been an improvement in the duration of youth unemployment. Two years ago, 46% of the young unemployed were more than a year out of work, and this has now fallen to 35%. As a result, the number of young people who are long-term unemployed has almost halved, from 35,200 to 18,500. While this progress is welcome, the current rate is, I believe, unacceptably high.

The Government’s strategy to tackle all forms of unemployment is being achieved through the actions set out in the Action Plan for Jobs and in Pathways to Work. In relation to young people, these overall policies are further supported by the measures set out in the Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan published earlier this year.

The Plan provides for enhancing the Intreo engagement with newly unemployed young people, and for building on and adding to the current range of education, training and employment interventions for young people.

Processes and programmes are being progressively rolled out to ensure that all of newly unemployed young people who need most support will receive a Youth Guarantee offer within four months. In addition, during 2014–2015 all existing long-term unemployed young people under 25 will be engaged by the Public Employment Service and will receive a Youth Guarantee offer if still unemployed after four months of this engagement process commencing.

Taking existing and planned provision together, the current estimate of programme uptake by approximately 28,000 young people in 2014 will involve associated programme costs of €336 million. If all Post-Leaving Certificate course and apprenticeship provision were to be included, the total programme uptake of approximately 52,000 has associated annual programme costs of €528 million.

I am confident that the funding is in place to finance these measures. It is being provided, in the first instance, by the Irish Exchequer through the budgetary process. However, we expect to recoup approximately €136 million in relation to expenditure on these programmes over the two years 2014-2015 from European funds (the European Social Fund and the Youth Employment Initiative).