John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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94. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the amount of EU funding made available to Ireland under the youth guarantee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20672/18]

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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95. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the amount Ireland has drawn down from EU funding under the youth guarantee; if no such funds have been drawn down, the reason for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20673/18]

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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96. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to draw down EU funding under the youth guarantee to assist in reducing the youth unemployment rate of 12%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20674/18]

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 94 to 96, inclusive, together.

The Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) is one of the main EU financial resources to support the implementation of the EU Youth Guarantee.  It is integrated into European Social Fund (ESF) programming as a dedicated priority axis within the ESF Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning 2014-2020 (PEIL).  The specific YEI allocation for Ireland of €68m is matched by equal amounts from our ESF allocation and from the Exchequer, giving an overall allocation of €204m.   

All ESF activities, including YEI activities, are fully funded up-front by the Exchequer with the EU (ESF/YEI) funding being claimed in arrears.  While no payment application has been made to date to the Commission under the PEIL, it is expected that the funding will be fully drawn down.

The ESF authorities must be designated in accordance with the EU regulations prior to making the first payment application.  This designation is based on the opinion of the Independent Audit Body (IAB) which must be satisfied across a range of criteria that systems are in place to allow the ESF authorities to perform their required functions.  These systems requirements include the provision of a computerised accounting and information system for EU funds to meet the 2014-2020 functionality requirements.  The final phase of the IT system went live at the end of March 2018.  The ESF authorities are engaging with the IAB and it is expected that designation will be completed in the coming weeks.  

Preparations are underway for the submission of a first payment application to the Commission in Q3 2018. The European Commission has advised that the potential decommitment at end 2018 is €127.7m, if not claimed in payment applications in the meantime.  The ESF authorities will ensure that sufficient payment applications are submitted to fully drawdown the EU funding allocations.

In accordance with the ESF Regulations, initial pre-financing of 3.5% and annual pre-financing for 2016 and 2017, of the EU support for the YEI priority axis, including the ESF matching financing, amounting to some €8.3m has been received to date. Separately, additional initial YEI pre-financing of €19.8m was also received in line with EU Regulation 799 of 2015 but was subsequently reimbursed as Ireland did not submit an interim payment application by May 2016 for at least 50% of the amount advanced.  The reimbursement of this amount has not resulted in any loss of EU monies to the Exchequer.

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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97. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the option of EU funding under the youth guarantee for lone parents and young persons of working age with a disability was opted out of; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20675/18]

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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The EU co-financed Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) aims to tackle youth unemployment and implement the Youth Guarantee by providing job, education and training opportunities to young people aged 15-25 who are not in employment, education of training. YEI funding is reserved for use in those regions, including Ireland, where youth unemployment levels exceeded 25% during the reference year of 2012.

The specific YEI funding allocation for Ireland of €68m is matched by equal amounts from our European Social Fund (ESF) allocation and from the Exchequer, giving an overall allocation of €204m. The YEI is integrated into ESF programming and is being delivered in Ireland as a dedicated priority axis within the ESF Programme for Education, Inclusion and Learning (PEIL) 2014-2020.

The ESF Managing Authority and the Operational Programme Monitoring Committee (PMC) maintain an ongoing overview of the funding allocations under the PEIL and re-allocate the available funding as required, in accordance with the EU Regulatory provisions. All ESF and YEI activities are fully funded up-front by the Exchequer. The activities currently approved for YEI funding are Youthreach; Community Training Centres (from 2017); Momentum; JobsPlus for Young People; the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance Scheme; the Department of Defence Employment Support Scheme (DFESS) and the Youth Employment Support Scheme (YESS) which the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection is planning to introduce this year. Of these activities, Momentum, JobsPlus for Young People and the DFESS are specifically targeted at recipients of jobseekers’ welfare payments.

In terms of specific supports for young people with disabilities, the new Ability pre-activation programme for young people with disabilities will be co-financed by the ESF under Priority 2 of the PEIL, aimed at promoting social inclusion and combating discrimination in the labour market. The focus of the programme will be on projects aimed at young people with disabilities (aged 15 –29) designed to assist in their transition from school to further education and employment.

The Fund for Students with Disabilities is also co-financed by the ESF under Priority 3 of the PEIL aimed at Investing in Education, Training and Life Long Learning with a view to upskilling and re-skilling the labour force. As part of the Third Level Access measure, this Fund supports the attainment of tertiary education qualifications by students with disabilities, thereby supporting their access to sustainable employment as skilled members of the workforce.

There is a specific project “New Futures for Lone Parents” which is aimed at lone parents within the Gender Equality activity co-financed under Priority 2. The Gender Equality activity is aimed at women who are currently detached from the labour market and who are interested in entering/re-entering employment. It also includes an entrepreneurship strand in line with the objectives of the EU 2020 Strategy, focussing on supporting business women (irrespective of their economic status) to realise their full business potential.

Finally, lone parents and people with disabilities are within the target groups to be engaged in the Social Inclusion and community Activation Programme which is also co-financed by the ESF under Priority 2 of the PEIL.