Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 26 May 1998

Vol. 491 No. 3

Written Answers. - Employment Action Plan.

Jan O'Sullivan

Question:

36 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the cost of the proposals in relation to the young long-term unemployed in her Employment Action Plan. [12102/98]

Proinsias De Rossa

Question:

46 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if, in regard to the Employment Action Plan published by her on 20 April 1998, she will identify the specific new job creation initiatives not previously announced; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12058/98]

Jim O'Keeffe

Question:

56 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the procedures proposed in the Employment Action Plan announced by her to interact with all persons under 25 years who are six months on the live register and all others who have been 12 months on the register with a view to offering them a job or other employment support. [12052/98]

Michael Ferris

Question:

57 Mr. Ferris asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the plans, if any, she has to provide new resources through FÁS and vocational second level education to target assistance to the large number of second level students who fail to complete second level education, youthreach or FÁS training. [12105/98]

John Gormley

Question:

60 Mr. Gormley asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the elements of choice and time being provided, prior to acceptance, to young unemployed people being given an option to work or training under the recently released Employment Action Plan. [12124/98]

Dan Neville

Question:

64 Mr. Neville asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the way in which she proposes to introduce the measures whereby all under 25s will be monitored and offered employment as outlined in the national employment plan as submitted to Brussels. [12072/98]

Dick Spring

Question:

97 Mr. Spring asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the further measures, if any, she will take to assist the older long-term unemployed in conjunction with the 1998 Employment Action Plan. [12104/98]

Nora Owen

Question:

126 Mrs. Owen asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the way in which she proposes to introduce the measures whereby all under 25 year olds will be monitored and offered employment as outlined in the national employment plan as submitted to Brussels. [12090/98]

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise. Trade and Employment (Miss Harney)

I propose to answer Questions Nos. 36, 46, 56, 57, 60, 64, 86, 97 and 126 together.

Ireland's Employment Action Plan which we submitted to the European Commission in April of this year sets out the policy measures and steps being taken at national level to give effect to the objectives of the four pillars and the 19 guidelines in the Council Resolution of December 1997. Many of the policy prescriptions proposed under the EU guidelines are already in place here so to that extent the guidelines will serve to reinforce national effort.

The guidelines call for the adoption of a preventative strategy whereby there will be early intervention with all young and adult unemployed, within six and 12 months respectively of their becoming unemployed with a view to offering them a job or other employability support.

We propose to meet this commitment by focusing initially on the under 25's who cross the six month unemployment threshold, and providing support for them to enter or re-enter the jobs market, as called for under the guidelines.

This will be done by means of co-operation beween the Department of Social Community and Family Affairs, the FÁS employment services, and utilising also the services available from the local employment service.

The process will be modelled generally, on the youth progression programme introduced for 18 and 19 year olds in October 1996. A first evaluation of that programme is that it increased the rate of exit of 18 and 19 year olds from the live register by some 20 percentage points, from 30 per cent to 50 per cent.

The specific costs of the proposals in relation to young long-term unemployed is not readily identifiable. However, the overall financial provision available for the employablility pillar of the guidelines, under which this particular initiative falls is just under £900 million.

With regard to the matter of specific new job creation initiatives, I would point out that the plan is primarily an articulation of labour market policy which is concerned with mobilising labour supply and creating the conditions in which people can get back into work. The entrepreneurship pillar is however specifically concerned with creating the conditions in which new jobs, particularly in the SME domain, can emerge. The range of measures proposed relate areas of administrative burdens, addressing tax obstacles to self-employment and the setting up of small businesses, reducing the overall tax burden including that impacting on direct and indirect labour costs, and assessing the potential of the social economy to generate new jobs. The plan embodies a comprehensive set of measures to deal with long-term unemployment. I would refer, in particular, to the key initiative to be launched by FÁS later this year in the form of an action programme for the long-term unemployed in which it will commit itself publicly to specific targets of increasing the proportion of long-term unemployed persons accessing training programmes.

As regards second level students who exit early from the school system and programmes, the action plan provides for £26 million for measures aimed at capacity expansion of at least 1,000 extra places in Youthreach and traveller training centres, an increase of progression places in FÁS to a total of 2,200, and an investment in preventive, counselling, guidance and psychological services for persons at risk.