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

My view of the world is different from that of the Minister of State. When you look at our own county, you see that Youthreach is a really good programme in regard to addressing disadvantage and social exclusion. We have waiting lists to get onto those programmes in Ballina and Kiltimagh. We do not have either the physical space to be able to do the training with them or the personnel. I ask the Minister of State to look at that in particular. We cannot leave so many young people behind. There are real social and economic consequences to leaving so many people behind and with adjustments, things could be done.
There needs to be a joining up of further and higher education and the workforce as well, which I do not believe is happening to the extent that it needs to be happening. In regard to investment in career guidance, it needs to start at a much earlier age - I would even say in national school, with regard to people's subject choices when they go into secondary school and taking it on from there. We do not have enough career guidance within the schools to ensure that young people can avail of the opportunities that match their interests and skills.

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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