AGREEMENT ON YOUTH GUARANTEE A POSITIVE STEP FOR YOUNG JOB SEEKERS - KENNY

Posted on February 28, 2013 5:29 PM   |   Permanent Link   

Dublin Bay North Labour T.D., Seán Kenny, has welcomed the agreement brokered by Minister Joan Burton, on the provision of an EU-wide Youth Guarantee in a meeting of European Social Protection and Employment Ministers (EPSCO) in Brussels.

"Youth unemployment has reached crisis levels in Europe and today's agreement is a crucial step in tackling the crisis. Once implemented, the Guarantee will assure young people under the age of 25 of a good quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within four months of becoming unemployed.

"The overall objective of guarantee schemes is to provide Europe's youth with better prospects for their future by ensuring that supports are available to them to enter the labour market. When implemented, the Youth Guarantee will contribute to three out of the five Europe 2020 targets: increasing the employment rate, reducing the extent of early school leaving, and lifting people out of poverty and social exclusion.

"The agreed document recommends that each Member State should move quickly to implement Youth Guarantees in their respective countries, taking into account existing national, regional and local policies and objectives. With regard to the Member States experiencing the most severe budgetary difficulties and higher rates of NEETs or of youth unemployment, gradual implementation can be considered. This will allow these States to deal progressively with their budgetary positions while still acting in a more decisive way to tackle youth unemployment.

"In addition to existing funding streams, on February 8th the European Council announced a Youth Employment Initiative amounting to €6 billion for the period 2014-2020 to support measures aimed at addressing youth unemployment and in particular to support the Youth Guarantee. Further work on how this funding will be allocated and its implementation will now be undertaken during Ireland's Presidency.

"The Guarantee comes from a European Commission recommendation and it fell to Ireland, in its role as President of the Council, to chair the negotiations on the recommendation. At the outset, the key priority that Minister Burton set for this meeting was to get political agreement on the EU Youth Guarantee. I'm delighted that a successful conclusion has been reached, and I believe this will make a key difference to the lives of millions of young people across the EU, including in Ireland, and I want to pay warm tribute to Minister Burton for her work on this."