asked the Minister for Labour if the Government have any proposals to make in the area of manpower agencies, in the light of the conclusions published in The Young Long Term Unemployed by the Youth Employment Agency.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Youth Unemployment.
22.
The findings of the Youth Employment Agency survey confirm that those with low levels of education and training and those from deprived backgrounds are more likely to experience long term unemployment. The findings underline the appropriateness of existing policy decisions such as the implementation of the social guarantee which is the responsibility of the Youth Employment Agency, the expansion of youth levy funded programmes participation from 22,500 in 1981 to nearly 50,000 at the end of 1985 and developments in the educational area such as the introduction of the vocational training and preparation programme which will play an important role in the implementation of the social guarantee.
All the manpower agencies together with the Department of Education are co-operating with the agency in the implementation of the social guarantee both at national and local level.
The Departments of Labour and Education with responsibility for the co-ordination of training and education activities vested in the Minister of State are actively considering what additional steps can be taken to assist those likely to fall into the long term unemployed category because of their leaving school early and without any qualifications.
I assume the Minister is as shocked as anybody else at the number of people who are now in the category of long term unemployment. Apart from the social guarantee fund schemes, has the Minister or his Department any recommendations or even thoughts at this stage on what can be done to improve the position, apart from all the courses we have at present?
I am not shocked by the large numbers of people on long term unemployment; frankly I am appalled and have been from the time I became Minister for Labour. I am appalled at the numbers not just in this country but throughout the European Community where there are in the region of six million to seven million people who have been unemployed for more than a year and in some cases for more than three years. The tragedy is that in all probability those people will not be able to avail of any upturn in the economy such as was indicated by the Taoiseach in his speech this morning.
All the evidence that we have had to date indicates that when the economy starts to grow in any country—and it is beginning to do so now in this country— it is people who have only been out of the employed labour force for a short period of time who get first chance to be taken back into employment. If somebody has been off the pitch and, indeed, out of the stadium for an extended period of time, he or she just does not have time to get back into employment. It was for that reason that we introduced the social employment scheme which now, as the Deputy knows, is targeted specifically at the long term unemployed. There are now nearly 11,000 people employed on that programme.
We have introduced a series of measures in relation to the enterprise allowance scheme, targeted in part at the long term unemployed but not exclusively. We are looking at other measures to try to see if we can get the long term unemployed back into the work pattern and work method, either by a system of training or by a system of temporary employment. That is not to suggest in any way that they are an alternative to full time and paid employment but as a necessary re-introduction into the paid labour force. The last scheme we introduced in that area is run by AnCO. That is known as the alternance programme, in which there are 2,500 people involved.
I ask the Minister to review the way expenditure is used in the various agencies to take account of the long term unemployed. Many of the schemes originally were based on people under 25 years of age. I know that the European Social Fund had restrictions on that. Is the Minister arguing in Europe to try to use the resources we are spending to help the long term unemployed, as they are obviously the most needy?
My Department, which have a very good record—and I say that with respect to the civil servants who have been extremely good agents of the State in relation to this matter—have at all times the operation of the Social Fund in Europe under review and the way in which the labour market is changing, and the composition of unemployment is altering relative to age and duration. We do so with the knowledge that any changes that take place will affect the fund not just for Ireland but for all the other states as well. I know there were questions on this subject on the Order Paper earlier on. We do so conscious of the fact that it is our obligation and task to maximise the amount of money Ireland will get from that fund.