GraduateTalents Being Wasted - FG

Only 129 People On The Government Work scheme That Promised 2,000 Places

Just 129 people have taken up places on a Government scheme for unemployed graduates, further evidence of how Fianna Fáil has failed to deal with the youth unemployment timebomb, according to  Fine Gael's  Social & Family Affairs Spokesperson Olwyn Enright, TD.

"According to figures released in December, only 129 people have taken up places on the Government's Work Placement Programme, which covers graduates and non-graduates alike. This is a drop in the ocean. Even
the scheme's target of 2,000 places will hardly dent the thousands of graduates currently on the dole. More than 2,000 people lost their jobs in one fell swoop with the closure of Dell's Limerick plant, Enright accused.

"Fine Gael has produced costed and effective policies to help unemployed graduates such as solicitors, architects, teaching and nursing graduates.This National Internship Programme would provide 13,000 part-time placements in the public service, private and voluntary sectors for unemployed graduates.

"Ireland needs a large and experienced pool of talented graduates in order to recover. But an entire generation is facing the prospect of going on the dole, or leaving the country. The longer the Government waits, the greater the damage to the economy and the more talent will be squandered."

"Mary Hanafin has issued yet another triumphalist statement trumpeting the Government's efforts to help unemployed graduates. Yet Fianna Fáil has nothing to be proud about. Her latest announcement about extending social
welfare entitlement to graduates on the IBEC GradLink programme is a woefully inadequate response to the overall youth unemployment crisis. And it's pitiful to see the Minister trying to take credit for schemes operated by non-government bodies like IBEC,"Enright said.

"Fianna Fáil is obsessed with ploughing billions into the banking system,while ignoring the very real human crisis of youth unemployment.

"The number of under-25s on the dole has shot up by 149% since the general election, from 33,872 to 84,398. According to a recent Youth Work Ireland poll, 60% of people between the ages of 12 and 18 expect to be unemployed when they complete their education," Enright continued

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