Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

In previous years, the European semester has laid significant emphasis on labour activation measures. I imagine that when we get around to it again, if anything, that will be more so the case given the high levels of youth unemployment, so I want to focus on this for a moment. The recent history in this State regarding training schemes has not been great. I need only mention the infamous JobBridge scheme. Participants in JobBridge at the time received €188 per week plus a €50 top-up, which was cheap labour. Are we going to see a repeat of that? What guarantees can the Minister give that we will not see a repeat of that? Nearly 60% of people in JobBridge did not complete their internships and fewer than 20% were offered jobs in their host companies. What guarantees can the Minister give the House that the next round of training, which the Government has in the pipeline, will not be of a similar ilk?

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