asked the Minister for Labour if the Government has considered the special plight of 1975 school leavers; and the steps, if any, it is intended to take to help alleviate the present serious problem faced by these young people as has been done in other EEC countries.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - School Leavers Situation.
3.
At the Social Affairs Council of Ministers' meeting of 17th June, 1975 I put forward a proposal calling for immediate action to assist the young unemployed. This proposal was accepted and the Council decided that aid should be made available from the European Social Fund for specific operations likely to facilitate the geographical and vocational mobility of young people under 25 years of age who are unemployed or seeking employment, on the understanding that priority would be given to young people seeking employment for the first time. The formal regulation implementing this decision will be made in the near future.
Consideration is at present being given to measures which would enable this country to benefit from the recent decision of the Council. Under the existing regulations of the European Social Fund, various schemes which cover the training of young people in Ireland already qualify for aid from the fund.
A good deal of the training organised by AnCo and CERT, particularly for craft occupations, is directed towards young people and the scale of such training is being expanded as far as possible within available resources. The National Manpower Service of my Department is also doing everything possible to help school leavers to secure employment.
Could I ask the Minister if his Government have considered, as other European Governments have done, the introduction of employment premiums to assist the employment of young people, in view of the Government's responsibility for the huge number of school leavers that are unemployed at present?
No, we have not considered that. As the Deputy is aware, we have the premium employment programme, but this relates primarily to those on the unemployed register.
Exclusively?
Exclusively, and as I have indicated to the Deputy, at EEC level we are helping to get some action going on the plight of school leavers.
Would the Minister not accept that this is probably one of the greatest problems that has ever faced this country, that of the 52,500 school leavers who are now seeking employment and who, for the most part, have no opportunity whatever of getting employment?
While employment is a serious problem, it is not as serious among the young as it is among other categories. The report available for 1974 suggests that there was a far higher number of young people who managed to get employment in that period of difficulty than we would have thought. We have a similar survey for 1975. The result of the figures available is that, in fact, the young have, even in the conditions of extraordinary difficulty that there are at present, managed to get more jobs than we would have thought possible.
Could the Minister tell the House how many jobs the 52,500 school leavers are likely to get in 1975?
In the 1974 survey we did a sample of 37,733 out of a total number of 44,000 school leavers in that year and the proportion who did not manage to get employment was quite satisfactory.
Would the Minister not accept that the situation has deteriorated considerably since 1974?
Yes, it has, but almost 41 per cent out of that proportion managed to get employment at that time. The figure surprised me.
Is the Minister saying to the House that that was adequate?
No, of course not.
4.
asked the Minister for Labour if he will consider some form of early retirement scheme which will make employment available for school leavers this year.
No such scheme has been advanced by either trade union or employer organisations. If any such early retirement scheme is put forward, which has the support of employers and trade unions, it will be carefully considered by me.
Would the Minister consider the possibility of introducing a voluntary early retirement scheme for people who are 60 years of age plus so as to make way for some of the thousands of young people who are now leaving vocational and secondary schools and even universities, who cannot get employment and whose morale will be shattered by having to join the 100,000 or more people who are unemployed today?
In general, if any such scheme were to be a success it would have to have the support of employer and union organisations, since it would affect those already at work. If any such scheme is put forward we shall consider it very carefully.
Is the Minister aware that the trade unionists and employers have suggested this to me and that is why I have put down this question?
They have not suggested it in any additional form, and we have been meeting with unions and employers considering, recently, in great detail, the problems of the economy. That suggestion has not been put to us.
Has the Minister suggested to the trade unions and employers that such a scheme would be advisable in present circumstances?
No. As I have indicated, we have not taken any initiative in this matter. If there was any support there for it I am sure we would have heard about it. The back of unemployment will be broken only when conditions of general recovery come about. In the meantime, we must ensure that as many jobs as possible are saved, and as an Administration we are attempting to do this.
Would the Minister tell the House why he, as a young Minister, has not discussed it with the trade unions?
I would be prepared to meet the unions and employers who would give support to such an idea at any time.
Is it not true that we will have retirements of young people in this House?
The Deputy should not intrude on Question Time in so unruly a fashion.