THERE WERE 80,000 people under 25 unemployed and Fine Gael’s proposals would put 30,000 of them back to work this year, party leader Enda Kenny said in Dublin yesterday.
Launching the Young Fine Gael campaign “Working to Get You Working” in Dublin yesterday, Mr Kenny said this could be done “through a combination of supported work programmes, second-chance education, community employment schemes and internship programmes”.
He said the Young Fine Gael proposals were backed up by the broader party proposal for a NewEra economic authority, “where we believe 100,000 jobs can be created over four and a half years”. He said: “Forced emigration due to lack of opportunity is causing untold damage to families and communities. The prospects of economic recovery are greatly hindered by losing our best and brightest to foreign countries.
“The Government cannot continue to fob off young people and consign them to a life of welfare dependency or emigration. That is why the Fine Gael party is offering an alternative to the stagnation the country is in.” Young Fine Gael president Barry Walsh said: “Young people are angry at the state of our economy. We are sick and tired of the constant doom and gloom.
“Our generation has been overburdened by a Government that has no clue how to change the direction in which the country is going. We are worried at the trend in Irish people emigrating, which saw an increase of more than one-third last year. Our own organisation lost its national secretary to emigration last week.
“We are tired of inaction. That is why we will be campaigning in towns, cities and college campuses throughout the country. We will be holding a series of public meetings and information seminars as well as distributing thousands of leaflets on our jobs plan.
“We need to get the message across to young people that there is hope, and that we have a plan to get the country back to work.
Mr Walsh said the proposals would bring 30,000 young people off the dole in one year.
He said it would create 13,000 internship placements; 10,000 second chance education scheme placements; and 5,000 extra community employment scheme places. He added that 10,000 jobs would be retained through a Government-supported workshare scheme.