LAST WEEK’S Budget was an affront to young people, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said yesterday at a seminar on alternatives to youth emigration.
“There is a real fear that we as a country could lose a generation of our greatest asset, our young people, to emigration. We have already seen a one-third increase in Irish emigrants this year,” Mr Kenny told the seminar organised by Dublin Young Fine Gael. Neither young people nor their parents wanted to face the heartbreak of emigration.
“Fine Gael wants to offer young people a future in their own country. That is why we have outlined a series of measures that will create 50,000 jobs this year and many more in the future.”
Describing the Budget as a particular affront to young people, Mr Kenny said the Government’s message to them was that they were a burden on the country.
“I want to challenge that in the strongest terms by saying: ‘We need you to rebuild our country. We want you to have a future in your own country with your families and, in government, we will bring in a range of stimulus plans that will make that happen.’ ”
Chairman of Dublin Young Fine Gael Alan Gallagher said emigration was no longer something young people read about in history books or heard about from their parents and grandparents.
“It is now becoming a reality for so many young people, not out of choice but out of necessity. Young people looked for a sign of hope in last week’s Budget; hope for a future in Ireland. Instead, they got a 50 per cent reduction in jobseeker’s allowance for those aged 20-21 and a 25 per cent reduction for those aged 22-24.
“We are watching young electricians, plumbers, carpenters, brick-layers and many other tradespeople being forced to leave Ireland in search of a brighter future,” said Mr Gallagher.