Strong focus on young people in Action Plan for Jobs – McEntee

Fine Gael TD for Meath East, Helen McEntee, has highlighted the positive measures for young people in the Action Plan for Jobs (APJ) for 2015 which was announced today. 

“The 2015 Action Plan for Jobs contains important measures to help provide employment for young people. The measures include incentivising entrepreneurs and helping to increase the number of IT graduates in order to meet the skills shortage in that area. 

“More than 80,000 jobs have been created since the Government launched the Action Plan for Jobs in 2012. I was on the M2 motorway this morning at 6.30am and between Slane and Ashbourne the road was extremely busy with people going to work. This is a clear indication that people are getting back to work in large numbers. We need to continue this progress in order to cater for the large numbers of young people coming onto the jobs market. Meath has a particularly young population and one which is growing. 

“The National Talent Drive which was launched today will focus on strengthening the employability of learners and enhancing employer engagement at all levels. We need to ensure that the skills our young people have meet the demands of employers that underpins the new economy. 

“In order to help meet the IT skills shortage, the Government will increase the number of third level ICT graduates by 60% between 2015 and 2018 and will provide 1,250 extra ICT places for students in 2015. There are over 211,000 students enrolled in our universities and institutes of technology. The education and training system has responded to significantly increased demand. In the six years to 2014, the higher education system has delivered 25,000 extra places.

“Since the launch in 2013 of the JobsPlus scheme for young people, 2,500 employers have availed of the opportunity to give over 3,400 unemployed people on the Live Register a chance to get back to work.

“The Action Plan for Jobs (APJ) has a significant focus on increasing entrepreneurial activity. The launch of the Startup Refunds for Entrepreneurs Scheme (SURE) as part of the APJ will provide additional finance for entrepreneurs. This will build on the highly successful best young entrepreneur competition which was launched last year. 1,100 people entered and, while there was only one winner, it gave all participants an excellent opportunity to meet important local contacts and network with their peers. The Government will support 130 new entrepreneurs via the New Frontiers Programme and also support 185 Competitive and High Potential Startups.

“From this month on people will see a small increase in their first pay packet of the year as decreases in tax and USC come into effect. Thanks to the sacrifices of the Irish people, the Government is putting money back in people’s pockets for the first time in seven years. A worker on the average industrial wage of about €35,000 gets €396 back, and a family of two earners with two children, bringing in €60,000 get back €469. 

“This is only a first step in making our tax system fairer and better for job creation. Fine Gael in government wants to deliver a similar package of tax cuts in 2016 and for the following year if re-elected.”