Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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17. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the measures he is taking to stem the continuing reduction in the number of persons of between 20 and 34 years of age in the labour force. [41754/15]

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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The latest data from the Quarterly National Household Survey for the third quarter of 2015 shows an increase in the labour force for those between 20 and 34. This encouraging trend echoes the strong employment data throughout the QNHS, including a revision that puts the unemployment rate below 9 per cent in October. There were 685,300 people between the age of 20 and 34 in the labour force in the third quarter of 2015, an increase of 2,200 on the previous quarter. Of these, 602,200 were in employment, an increase of 4,000 on the previous quarter.

The unemployment rate for 25-34 years olds, at 10.3% in Q3 2015, is at its lowest for over seven years while, for the younger age group of 20-24, it is now consistently below 20%.

There are numerous reasons for the fluctuations in the 20-34 age cohort in the labour force. Enrolment at Higher Education Authority funded bodies reached 208,000 in 2013/14 as school-leavers seek to secure further educational qualifications to enhance their employment prospects, thereby temporarily removing themselves from the labour force.

This focus on improving skills provision for young unemployed people is being pursued through, for example, the Momentum and Springboard programmes as well as the new Youth JobsPlus initiative and the second ICT Skills Action Plan.

My Department is currently developing the 2016 Action Plan for Jobs which will keeps Ireland on track to achieve our goal to have 2.1 million people in employment by 2018. The Tánaiste, and Minister for Social Protection, is also developing a new Pathways to Work Strategy for the period 2016 to 2020.

Our Departments will continue to build on the progress to date through the Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work to ensure that more employment opportunities are available to young people who are seeking work.