asked the Minister for Labour if he proposes to have a register compiled of unemployed school leavers.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - School Leavers' Register.
8.
Cavan) (for the Minister for Labour): Unemployed school leavers are already encouraged to register voluntarily with the National Manpower Service. No proposals for changing this system are under consideration at present.
Information on the overall level of unemployment among school leavers is provided by regular surveys conducted by the National Manpower Service.
In view of the present alarming position with regard to school leavers will the Minister not accept that the first thing to be done is to get the position clearly documented and that it would not involve much extra work to have a separate register for school leavers compiled?
(Cavan): The question of the coverage of the live register statistics is under consideration at the moment by the inter-departmental study group under the chairmanship of the Central Statistics Office. Among the matters being considered by the study group is the question of more frequent and more comprehensive analysis of the live register. The most useful information, I suppose, I could give the Deputy would be to tell him that the survey carried out by the national manpower service in 1976 for the 1975 school leavers is as follows: found employment, 49 per cent, unemployed 7 per cent, returning to school 8 per cent, got jobs on family farms, 5 per cent, emigrated 2 per cent, went into full-time higher education, 19 per cent, destination not known, 10 per cent.
Is the Minister aware that we are the only State in the EEC without accurate up-to-date figures in this important area and would the Minister explain to the House why this is so?
(Cavan): School leavers are encouraged to register with the National Manpower Service as seeking employment if they want employment. I believe that a great number of them have so registered and the breakdown of that register is according to the type of job sought and not according to age. It is proposed to arrange that it will be broken down according to age.
My sympathies go with this man who obviously has no idea of the subject we are discussing.
Question, please.
The Minister is talking about people being encouraged to register with the National Manpower Service. The question that was asked and the supplementary that was asked is that if eight other member states of the EEC can have accurate up-to-date information in this very important area, why have we not taken steps to have this information provided. The Minister should not talk about encouraging people to do something that he knows as well as I is not being done except in the case of people looking for employment.
(Cavan): I am grateful to the Deputy for his sympathy in this case but I do not want it. School leavers are encouraged to register. They are registering and they are reflected in the overall figures supplied. Arrangements are being made to break down the register according to age and that will give the specific information which the Deputy wants.
Question No. 9, please.
Arising from the Minister's reply——
One final supplementary.
Is it not true that the National Manpower Service only caters for a certain limited range of employment and, consequently, school leavers who do not come within that range are not counted at all?
(Cavan): I do not find that to be the case. I find that the National Manpower Service will interview people and will register them for practically any type of employment.
That is not so according to the manpower services.