Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 10 Jul 1991

Vol. 410 No. 7

Written Answers. - Youth Unemployment.

Pat Rabbitte

Question:

20 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Labour if, in view of the figures he gave in reply to parliamentary questions Nos. 71 and 72 of 28 May 1991, which showed that over a period of three successive years almost 40 per cent of school leavers had failed to find jobs in Ireland, he intends to take any new steps to deal with the problem of youth unemployment; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Labour (Mr. B. Ahern)

I do not accept that the calculations made by the Deputy on the basis of figures which I supplied to the House on 28 May 1991 give a meaningful labour force picture of those leaving second-level education between 1988 and 1990.

It would appear that the percentage mentioned in the Deputy's question was arrived at by disregarding those temporarily unavailable for work and school leavers who opted to continue with their further education. Such students are, in effect, sensibly postponing labour market entry pending the acquisition of higher level qualifications and skills increasingly in demand in the labour market and to improve their career prospects.

On the basis of the method of calculation used by the Deputy all these students would be permanently omitted from the calculation despite the fact that they enter the labour market subsequently on completion of their studies.

I believe the normal practice of calculating percentages of young people at work, in education, seeking a job, etc. in respect of each cohort, provides the most useful indication of the labour market situation for the cohort.

When those in further education are taken into account, the level of unemployment among school leavers who had remained in Ireland fell from 19 per cent in 1988 to 14 per cent in 1990.

I would emphasise that educational qualifications are of the utmost importance in determining employment prospects: the latest school leavers' survey shows that almost 30 per cent of those who left school without qualifications were still seeking their first job one year later compared with 6.9 per cent of leaving certificate students. For those with third-level qualifications the unemployment rate is even lower — standing at 3.7 per cent in 1989.

In recognition of this the Government have given education at every level special priority in theProgramme for Economic and Social Progress providing an additional 8,800 third-level places together with a significant expansion of the Youthreach Programme for unqualified school leavers and 1,000 extra apprenticeships.

I am keeping the labour force position of young people under constant review to see what additional initiatives might be feasible to further improve the situation within available resources.