Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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514. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons aged 25 years or younger in 2023 and 2024 who are neither in full-time education or receiving disability, invalidity or illness benefit payments, but who are receiving jobseekers' payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15495/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The figures provided below for jobseeker claims include all individuals who received at least one jobseeker payment in the particular year. It is important to note that this includes persons who may have been in casual employment while receiving their jobseeker payment. The CSO's Labour Force Survey is the official measure of unemployment in the State.

In 2023, a total of 297,511 people received at least one Jobseeker's Benefit or Jobseeker's Allowance payment at some point during the year, of which 42,816 (14.4%) were aged 25 or younger. In 2024, the total number of persons receiving at least one jobseeker's payment was lower, at 290,186. 42,890 of these (14.8%) were persons aged 25 or younger, a slight increase of from the previous year.

The Department provides a Back to Education Allowance, which helps people return to training or education. Persons in receipt of the Back to Education Allowance have been excluded from these figures.

The percentage of young people aged 15 to 24 who were neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET) was 6.8% in 2022 and 6.5% in 2023. In comparison, the EU average for the same age group was 9.6% in 2022 and 9.2% in 2023.