Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Renua Ireland)
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25. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the initiatives he has to deal with youth employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41426/15]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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A key objective of the Action Plan for Jobs process, which this Government commenced in 2012, was to rebuild our economy based on enterprise and entrepreneurship, talent, innovation and exports, in order to provide a solid foundation for future growth and to provide employment opportunities for all age cohorts. The goal of this Government has been to replace all of the jobs lost during the economic crisis and deliver sustainable full employment by the end of 2018. The Action Plan for Jobs is having a positive impact on employment in the economy, since the first Plan was launched in early 2012. Since Q1 2012, 135,800 additional people are at work. The unemployment rate has fallen below nine per cent for the first time since 2008, down from a high of 15.1 per cent in early 2012 and we are making progress on reducing the numbers of youth and long-term unemployed.

The progress made by Government in supporting youth employment is impressive. The number of unemployed young people has fallen significantly from 74,000 in Q3 2012 to 42,000 in Q3 2015. This progress must be sustained.

Economic recovery will underpin jobs growth and the availability of productive employment for young people. The Action Plan for Jobs complements the Government’s Pathways to Work, developed by the Department of Social Protection, which sets out specific measures for young people, under the Youth Guarantee and Youth Activation charter, to help them access the labour market and new job opportunities.

We will continue to focus on improvements in skills provision through the provision of programmes for a diverse range of individuals including young unemployed people through the Education and Training Boards in the implementation of the Further Education and Training Strategy 2014-18, the Momentum and Springboard programmes, employment incentive programmes such as the new Youth JobsPlus initiative, and doubling of high end skills as part of the second ICT Skills Action Plan. The new apprenticeships programme provides further opportunities for young people to find rewarding careers for the future. The first phase, comprising 25 new apprenticeship proposals across a wide range of sectors, was announced in July of this year.

The HEA will also support the use of third level facilities out of term to promote greater awareness and interest in technology, science and engineering among young people. In the areas of entrepreneurship, Local Enterprise Offices provide a first stop shop for young entrepreneurs with an idea of interested in starting a business and we will build on the success of “Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur” competition.

My Department is currently developing the 2016 Plan and is engaging bilaterally with Government Departments to identify actions to ensure that the 2016 Plan is as ambitious and impactful as possible and keeps us 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.