Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 October 2012
70. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will detail her plans for a youth guarantee to be discussed during Ireland's Presidency of the EU Council; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44400/12]
View answerThe proposals for a European-wide approach to a “youth guarantee”, that are to be discussed during Ireland's Presidency of the EU Council, will be drawn up in the first instance by the European Commission. The Commission is currently reviewing relevant youth policies across the Member States with a view to making its proposals. The Commission’s proposals are expected to be published in December, and achieving political agreement on these proposals in the Council will be a major objective of Ireland’s Presidency in the first half of 2013.
In the broadest terms, discussions to date indicate that a guarantee approach would involve identifying a specific target group of young people and ensuring that, within some specified time period after entering unemployment, each of them had either found a job or been placed in an appropriate education, training or work experience programme.
However, there is considerable variation among Member States with regards to the possible implementation of any such guarantee, in terms of the target groups covered and the extent and nature of the policy commitments made. The target group may include all persons aged under 25 who become unemployed, or be limited only to those who leave school with low qualification levels and remain "not in employment education or training" (NEET). The specified time period to which the guarantee relates may also vary, as may the type of intervention that is seen as meeting the guarantee. Experience suggests that the core of any "guarantee" approach requires detailed and human-resource intensive administrative processes and information systems, usually within the public employment service.
The Department is reviewing arrangements here in the light of these various approaches. In particular, we are currently assessing the possible implications of any proposal in terms of the administrative, financial and programme resources that would be required. These resource demands are likely to be particularly acute in Ireland given the current scale of youth unemployment. However, more precise estimation will not be possible until the details of the Commission’s proposals are finalised.
