Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 February 2013
195. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her Department can take any particular initiatives arising from the consequences of youth unemployment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7578/13]
View answerThe Government is committed to creating the environment for a strong economic recovery to support employment creation and jobs growth. Youth unemployment is a particular concern because of the difficulties it poses for young people themselves, their personal development and for social inclusion. The Government has a range of measures in place to tackle youth unemployment and these include initiatives in respect of education, training, job search assistance/work experience and support for job creation.
As Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, I have sought to highlight and promote the potential of youth work as part of the continuum of youth employment supports and I welcome the growing recognition in Ireland and across Europe of the potential of youth work services to enhance employability of young people. Each year over 380,000 young people participate in youth work services throughout Ireland. Youth Work and non-formal learning, in its many programmes and activities can offer young people opportunities, including valuable volunteering opportunities, which can aide young people in acquiring new competences and skills and in turn enhance employability and job-readiness.
This is particularly relevant in the case of young people who are otherwise marginalised from traditional services, such as those who are not in education, employment or training, the so called NEETs cohort. Existing youth work services already provide a significant level of engagement with this cohort and have the potential to provide a value-added not readily available from other activation programmes, through provision of outreach, intervention and bridging programmes focused on developing skill-sets and job-readiness. Already a number of Irish youth services have begun piloting innovative community-based programmes focussed on supporting youth employment.
My Department and I will continue to engage with the newly-established National Youth Work Advisory Committee and other Government Departments to explore how such initiatives can be supported as part of the Government’s overall activation programme. Minister Bruton is currently finalising the 2013 Action Plan for Jobs on behalf of the Government and in that context my Department is working closely with the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation on the inclusion in the plan of appropriate actions relating to the contribution of the youth sector in supporting youth employment, including through a greater focus on promoting and supporting volunteering opportunities.
In line with the Ireland’s overall EU Presidency priority theme of ‘Jobs, Stability & Growth’, I have sought to prioritise youth employment during my Presidency of the EU Council of Youth Ministers. The Europe 2020 growth agenda emphasises the need to “develop youth work as a resource to support youth employability” while the current EU Strategy for Youth (2009) contains a key objective to "develop youth work as a resource to support youth employability”.
With this is mind, Ireland’s Youth Presidency Programme includes a priority focus on maximising the potential of youth policy in addressing the goals of the Europe 2020 Strategy, in particular with respect to supporting youth employability. Work is underway on draft council conclusions which I hope will be agreed at the EU Council of Youth Ministers meeting in Brussels in May which I will chair. I also plan, as part of the Presidency programme, to host an expert round table event on quality youth work and its contribution to Europe 2020 and youth employment in June of this year.
