Youth Unemployment
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-19
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Rose Conway-Walsh (SF), Mayo

The Minister of State rightly says that this is not unique to Ireland but I do not think that is a reason for saying that everything is okay. If you look at the EU average, yes, it is 15%. In Britain it is 15.3%. However, there are actions that need to be taken here. For unemployment in general, we have nearly three times that rate for youth unemployment. Young people who complete their education are struggling to find well-paid work. They deserve to have career prospects after completing their studies or training and having invested in obtaining a qualification. Some 44,600 people aged 15 to 24 years are currently unemployed in this country. When we say unemployed, obviously that is not people in education but it is people who are available for and willing to work. I take on board what the Minister of State is saying around the lack of experience and all that but again, I think there is something worrying happening here in youth unemployment. These people are not in any form of education or training and we need to put initiatives in place.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-19/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:40+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-19