Youth Unemployment
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-15
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Louise O'Reilly (SF), Dublin Fingal West

The Minister of State said he thinks we would all agree that it is not unusual for youth employment rates to be higher than those of older cohorts. I respectfully disagree with him. Dr. Elish Kelly from the ESRI has described the youth unemployment rate as it currently stands as a worrying trend because when you look at that age profile the chances are that they have lower levels of education and attainment. They are more likely to be employed on temporary-type contracts and in more vulnerable sectors that are often the first to let people go when the economy takes a turn. The ESRI would challenge the Minister of State's view that it is not unusual. I am pointing it out to him simply because within the overall trend not only is it ahead of the general unemployment rate but it is rising at a faster rate. When I say the canaries in the coalmine that is what I mean. It is worth looking at that.
The Minister of State will not find anyone on the Sinn Féin benches objecting to a body of work in that regard. He knows that we will work with him. The first thing that needs to happen is research into those labour market conditions. A job is one thing but a job that can sustain you and you can live on is very much another thing. The Minister of State knows what the rental rates are like. Notwithstanding the fact that they might be high in Melbourne, young people are still going there in large numbers. They are going in numbers that are bigger than have ever been seen before. I think the year before last, 22,000 visas were issued for Australia alone.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-15/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:30+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-15