Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 December 2018
53. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when she plans to publish the review of the policy outlined in section 18 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2014, which allows for the discrimination on the grounds of age in respect of a prescribed class of persons in the provision of employment services and supports. [52953/18]
View answerSection 18 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2014 allows for discrimination on the grounds of age in respect of a prescribed class of persons in the provision of employment services and supports. The provisions in Section 18 facilitate the implementation of the Youth Guarantee, which was agreed by the European Council on 22 April 2013 to tackle the challenge of youth joblessness.
My Department is nearing completion of the review of the operation, effectiveness and impact of Section 18, as required under subsection 3, and is considering its continued relevance given the improved economic situation for young unemployed. I expect to lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas by the end of Q2 2019.
Youth unemployment has fallen from a peak of over 32% in 2012 to its current rate of 12.3% in November 2018 ( below the EU average of 15%). The actual number of young people unemployed, estimated to have peaked at 97,400 persons in late 2010, fell to 37,600 in November 2018. Ireland is on course to bring youth unemployment to below 12% in accordance with Pathways to Work targets for 2020.
The positive downward trend in the youth unemployment rate indicates that, together with improvements in the labour market, government policy to address youth unemployment, which focuses firstly on enhancing processes and policies for assisting young unemployed people to find secure sustainable jobs, has been successful. Ensuring that as many of these jobs as possible are filled by unemployed people, particularly those on the Live Register, remains the overarching objective of the activation policies set out in Pathways to Work.
