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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 8 Oct 1992

Vol. 423 No. 2

Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Rising Unemployment.

Richard Bruton

Question:

2 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Labour if his attention has been drawn to the dramatic rise in unemployment among young people in the past eighteen months; and if he will give details of the expansion, if any, in programmes under his Department which is planned to deal with this problem.

It is Government policy that the problem of youth unemployment is best tackled in the context of measures to alleviate unemployment generally. These measures include both training and employment schemes.

Young people are eligible to participate in the Enterprise Scheme, the Employment Subsidy Scheme and many of the general FÁS and CERT training programmes, while the Community Youth Training Programme, Job Training Scheme and a number of both FÁS and CERT training programmes are directed specifically at young people. Teamwork is the temporary employment scheme specifically for young people and up to 2.300 will participate in it this year, while training courses operated by FÁS and CERT will cater for about 25,000 young people this year.

The Employment Incentive Scheme is designed to encourage employers to take on early school leavers who have participated in the Youthreach Programme and other disadvantaged young people. About 1,200 young people are expected to be recruited under the scheme in 1992.

Would the Minister accept that the growth in youth unemployment since the beginning of 1990, of 55 per cent, adding 32,000 young people to our unemployment figures, is of crisis proportions? Would the Minister further accept that, to say that this is to be tackled within a generalised approach to unemployment is failing to respond to this disproportionate growth in youth unemployment? Is it not raising money under false pretences to continue with the youth unemployment levy at a time when the Minister no longer intends to have specialised measures to help with youth employment?

I have already outlined the specialised measures which are specifically targeted at people under 25. People under 25 account for about 31 per cent of those on our unemployment list.

In the context of the review that is going on at the moment in terms of preparation of the White Paper on manpower policy we are looking at what further instruments we can add to deal with a specific problem which is tied up with the demography of the labour market in terms of the increase that is taking place. I would make the point that a significant number of young people, 25,000 this year, have taken up both FÁS and CERT schemes. This is a sizeable number of people being trained by the State agencies for the purpose of providing them with skills which will help them in the labour market. We are at present reviewing the situation in the context of the White Paper on manpower policy and perhaps the House will await our proposals in that regard.

There is less than five minutes left to deal with two remaining questions. I must call No. 3 and ask for brevity.

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