Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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92. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the way he plans to address the issue of youth unemployment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35933/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Government’s primary strategy to tackle youth unemployment is to create the environment for a strong economic recovery through effective policies. In doing so it is hoped to promote competitiveness and productivity.

Reflecting the impact of government policy, and the overall improvement in the labour market, youth unemployment continues to fall with a rate of 15.1% (30,500) in October 2016 (as estimated by CSO), compared to 15.9% (32,400) in September 2016 and a peak of over 31.1% (70,500) in 2012.

Although the labour market situation is improving considerably as the recovery continues, the Government recognises the importance of a continued focus on measures to facilitate young unemployed people to find and sustain employment. This is the rationale behind the Government’s Pathways to Work 2016-2020 strategy (published January 2016) and the Youth Guarantee plan (published January 2014).

The key objective of Ireland’s policy response to the EU Recommendation on a Youth Guarantee is to help newly unemployed young people find and secure sustainable jobs. In this regard there is monthly engagement by case officers with young people to assist them to prepare, review and, if appropriate, revise personal progression plans. Where young people do not find work relatively quickly, additional supports may be offered, both through reserved places on existing employment and training schemes and through youth-specific measures. Most such offers (over 70%) are in existing further education or training programmes. Others are in existing community-based employment programmes such as CE, Gateway and Tús. Overall, over 19,100 opportunities were taken up on the relevant programmes in 2015. The wage subsidy JobsPlus Youth, valued at €7,500, is also available to employers who hire young jobseekers under 25 who were previously at least four months unemployed (JobsPlus is otherwise available to jobseekers over 25 who are at least 12 months unemployed).

Pathways to Work 2016-2020 continues to prioritise these measures for the young unemployed and further commits to a number of additional measures. These include increasing the share of workplace-based interventions for youth unemployed; ensuring that monthly engagement, at a minimum, is consistently applied and maintained; restructuring the First Steps programme; and implementing the Defence Forces Skills for Life programme.

I am confident these measures, and continuing economic recovery, will support further reductions in youth unemployment and add to the substantial improvements that have already been seen over the last few years.