Youth Employment Guarantee To Be Discussed

A scheme to guarantee young people receive an offer of employment, continued education, apprenticeship or trainee-ship is to be discussed tomorrow by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection.

The Youth Guarantee will be discussed by representatives from the Department of Social Protection; Ballymun Job Centre; National Youth Council of Ireland; Tipperary Regional Youth Service and Union of Students in Ireland, who will address the Committee.

Committee Chair Joanna Tuffy TD says: "Tomorrow’s meeting will afford the Committee an opportunity to assess the best policy approaches required to achieving an effective, meaningful and robust Youth Guarantee. Youth unemployment is one of the biggest challenges facing Ireland and the European Union today. As the experience of a significant number of other EU member states shows, Youth Guarantees can play an important part in addressing youth unemployment. If properly focused and resourced they can also have a positive impact in reducing the number of young people not in employment, education or training.

"By hearing the perspectives of Department Officials and youth and student representatives, the meeting tomorrow will help the Committee to develop its position on this important issue. It will also serve to inform a Committee Report on the Youth Guarantee being compiled by Senator Marie-Louise O’Donnell. In July, the Committee made a political contribution to the European Commission calling for enhanced funding for the Youth Guarantee scheme agreed at Council level earlier in the year. Earlier in the year, the European Commission also announced funding for a pilot project on the Youth Guarantee in Ballymun so we look forward to hearing from the Ballymun Job Centre on the progress of the scheme and any challenges encountered in the project so far."

(IT/CD)