Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 November 2014
105. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the measures that have been taken so far on the youth guarantee implementation programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41682/14]
View answerThanks in large part to the Government’s Pathways to Work strategy, many of the elements identified at an EU level as being core to a Youth Guarantee are already in place in Ireland. These include personalised delivery of services at public employment offices with targeted recruitment subsidies, internships, places on training and employment programmes and free further education options.
In addition, the Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan forwarded to the EU at the start of this year set out our intentions to provide earlier and faster engagement for young people under Intreo and to reserve places on existing programmes, such as TÚS, for access by young people who are already long-term unemployed.
These new and existing initiatives provided 28,000 plus places for unemployed young people during 2014 (this figure excludes apprenticeship and PLC places).
Approximately 14,300 of these places had been taken up at the end of September. The table below details the total take-up for the year-to-date, together with the estimate for full-year intake provided in the Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan.
Take-up is expected to rise substantially by year-end, for several reasons.
Firstly, the student intake on programmes such as the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) is concentrated in September/October in line with the academic calendar. In addition, the intake of young people to the 2014 iteration of the Momentum training programme has just begun.
Secondly, the passage of primary legislation over the summer to allow positive discrimination on age grounds, enables the launch later this month of the Youth Developmental Internship programme and the enhanced JobsPlus variant for young people.
I am confident that these developments, together with the Autumn intake on education and training programmes, will ensure that the Government delivers on its targets under the Youth Guarantee.
Youth Guarantee Progress YTD:
|
Programme |
Expected full-year intake |
2014 YTD |
Note |
|
Youthreach/CTC |
3,300 |
1,300 |
Only CTC starters -- Youthreach figures not yet available for 2014 |
|
JobBridge (including developmental internship) |
5,000 |
2,418 |
As of 14th October |
|
Tús |
1,000 |
1,223 |
As of 30th September |
|
JobsPlus |
1,500 |
265 |
As of 30th September |
|
Momentum |
2,000 |
13 |
2014 intake commencing September-October |
|
BTEA (excl Momentum) |
3,300 |
2319 |
As of 14th October |
|
BTWEA |
200 |
139 |
Including 5 persons on STEA |
|
VTOS |
500 |
Not available |
|
|
FAS/Solas |
9500 |
6,036 |
Based on SST, Traineeship, Bridging & LTI starters YTD (end September) |
|
CEB youth Entrepreneurship Training and Mentoring supports |
700 |
Not yet commenced |
|
|
CEB/MFI micro-loans for young people |
150 |
2 |
31st August |
|
International Work Experience and Training |
250 |
Not yet commenced |
|
|
Gateway |
450 |
122 |
26th September |
|
Community Employment |
500 |
438 |
30th September |
|
Total |
28,350 |
14,293 |
Excluding where figures are not available |
