asked the Minister for Labour if he will make a statement on any Government proposals for the co-ordination of the agencies involved in youth employment and training.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Youth Employment and Training Agencies.
13.
The Youth Employment Agency was established in March 1982 and has among its principal objectives the co-ordination and integration of schemes for the training and employment of young persons. Since this Government took office they have been able to help the agency come to grips with some of the problems which have constrained it in achieving its objectives.
I am aware that there has been some criticism of the lack of co-ordination of the activities of the various manpower agencies, including a perceived lack of co-ordination between certain bodies in the training and education field. I accept generally that there are serious problems both in regard to the definition of a coherent policy for manpower development, youth employment and training, as well as in bringing about a co-ordinated approach by the various State agencies involved.
Against this background, in my role as Minister of State at the Departments of Education and Labour, I have been given special responsibility for co-ordination of education and training and am currently working in the discharge of this brief.
Will the Minister of State not agree that there is a far greater need now for co-ordination of youth schemes operated and organised by the various agencies than there was when the Youth Employment Agency was first established? Will he not agree that one of the roles envisaged for that agency at that time was the co-ordination of these youth schemes but that for some reason the overlap now has become far more obvious than it was? Will the Minister agree that there is grave public disquiet and concern at the failure of the agency to successfully handle that co-ordination?
Since the establishment of the agency and the introduction of the levy, which took place alongside it, the number of participants in the schemes has multiplied dramatically to such an extent that the average level of participation now is perhaps three times what it was prior to the introduction of the levy. In those circumstances, simply because there are more people participating, the need for co-ordination is all the greater. The fact that I was assigned to two Departments and asked to carry out this task of achieving co-ordination indicates that the Government are concerned to do that. I can tell the Deputy that I have been working very actively indeed in discharge of that. I have had the opportunity of hearing the views of a very wide number of bodies involved in the manpower, education and training areas, both in writing and in an exhaustive and exhausting series of meetings with the bodies involved. As a result of those consultations I hope to be in a position shortly to put forward some specific proposals to improve the situation.
How many extra jobs for young people have resulted from the establishment of the Youth Employment Agency?
Something like 50,000 young people participated last year in programmes funded by the levy for youth employment.
That does not answer my question, how many jobs have been created?
Many of those participants would have been on programmes of short term duration, either of the work experience variety of short-term employment or training. The agency have also been responsible for the direct creation of 750 jobs and that does not take account of the number of jobs indirectly created. Yesterday I was looking at a paper dealing with Deputy Gene Fitzgerald's city where a large number of short-term survey programmes have been in operation for some time, mainly sponsored by Ógra Chorcaigh, the youth organisation care. I was happy to see that there has been a spin-off in terms of full-time employment but that sort of development would not be included in general statistics.
These schemes are welcome, important and excellent in their own right. Those who organise them should be commended and they deserve the support of the Youth Employment Agency. However, I asked the Minister to specify where the 750 jobs are and if that is the total number of jobs which have been created since the agency were set up?
That figure is not the total number because it does not take account of permanent jobs which were a spin-off as a result of temporary employment schemes organised by Ógra Chorcaigh. As to the location of those jobs, my recollection is that on a previous occasion that information was circulated with the Official Report in response to a question from Deputy Fitzgerald.
I have no recollection of that but perhaps the Minister will let me know as soon as possible where those 750 jobs are located.