WEXFORD FIANNA Fáil TD John Browne has stated that the Social Protection Minister needs to be more specific about tackling youth unemployment and begin by implementing ideas brought forward in Fianna Fáil’s strategy.
Deputy Browne said: “I welcome Minister Burton’s comments thatIreland’s Presidency of the EU next year has the potential to make a significant impact on the crisis which has gripped countries all acrossEurope. However there are specific ideas being brought forward now that the Government is failing to move on.
“Fianna Fáil produced a strategy on youth unemployment in May. It set out in detail a number of measures to help young people get back into the workforce and also improve their skills. The plan requires an investment of €52 million but the cost of not investing in young people to get them into employment will be far greater for society.”
Included in the strategy was training 100,000 young job seekers with ICT skills over the next four years to address the immediate skills shortage in the technology sector, strengthening and expanding JobBridge to add 5,000 more places for graduates under 25, introducing extensive graduate programmes to all the state supported bank and dramatically reforming education, welfare and employment services introducing education and training vouchers on a pilot basis.
Mr Browne added, “Minister Burton is making all the right sounds about tackling youth unemployment but radical and immediate action is needed. There are over 80,000 people under 25 on the Live Register, over 3,600 of those in Wexford alone.”
He broke this number down to 955 youths under the age of 25 being unemployed in Enniscorthy, 750 in Gorey, 625 in New Ross and 1,353 in Wexford.
He concluded: “Our plans are realistic and affordable. They will make a real difference to young people and more importantly if these initiatives are implemented and progress is made in the months ahead the Government will have proven proposals that could be replicated in other countries also suffering high rates of youth unemployment.”
