Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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312. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which his Department continues to be in the position to avail of European Union support to alleviate youth unemployment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3223/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Government’s primary strategy to reduce youth unemployment is through policies to create the environment for a strong economic recovery by promoting competitiveness and productivity. Economic recovery will underpin jobs growth and the availability of productive employment for young people. This strategy has been succeeding; by Q1 2016 the number of people in employment is up by over 200,000 from the lowest level reached in 2012.

Youth unemployment is estimated at 14.5% (29,400 persons) in December 2016 and has fallen from a peak of 31.2% in July 2012.

Policy on youth unemployment, framed in the context of the EU Recommendation on a Youth Guarantee, concentrates assistance to young people in finding and securing sustainable jobs. In 2015 monthly engagement by case officers with all young unemployed was implemented. For those who do not find employment, additional offers are provided for. Most such offers (over 70%) are in further education or training. Others are in community-based employment programmes such as CE, Gateway and Tus, or through the JobsPlus employment subsidy for private employment. Pathways to Work 2016-2020 continues to prioritise these measures for the young unemployed and additionally commits to: 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.

Annual Government expenditure on relevant programmes was estimated, in the Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan, at approximately €336 million. A number of the programmes involved – for example First Steps and the youth element of the JobsPlus Incentive Scheme, are operated by the Department of Social Protection.

This expenditure is supported in part by the EU through the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) and European Social Fund (ESF). The YEI is being delivered in Ireland as a dedicated priority axis within the ESF Operational Programme for Education, Inclusion and Learning (PEIL) 2014-2020, for which the Irish Managing Authority is the Department of Education and Skills.

I am informed that the total amount allocated to YEI under PEIL is €204,436,257. This allocation is comprised of €68,145,419 of specific EU funding for YEI, with matching amounts from Ireland’s ESF allocation and from Exchequer funding.