220% increase in local under-25s on the dole compared to two years ago

With 90,000 under-25s on the live register and a third of all young men unemployed, Local Fine Gael Councillor Neale Richmond had called on local members of the Dáil to support Fine Gael’s Eight Point Plan to end the ‘Young People’s Recession’.

Fine Gael’s plan will tackle unemployment and help young people to get into work, education and training.

Speaking before the Plan is debated in the Dail, Cllr Richmond said: ‘Almost everyone has suffered in this recession, but it is primarily a young person’s recession. Everyday I am seeing friends, family and former classmates being forced to move to places such as Australia, Canada and the Emirates, not in search of an adventure but simply in search of work.

“Young people have borne the brunt of the unemployment crisis with almost 90,000 people under the age of 25 on the live register and a third of young men on the dole. Young people are most likely to have to emigrate. Those in employment are more likely to be on temporary contracts and be mired in debt and negative equity.

“If the Government does not act soon we risk losing a whole generation to debt and despair. In our area alone there is a staggering 220% more under-25s on the dole compared to two years ago!

“Fine Gael has the youngest parliamentary party in the Dáil and have the youngest Councillors in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown. We can identify with the problems facing young people. That’s why Fine Gael is seeking to promote our Eight Point Plan to get people back into employment, education and training with a particular emphasis on youth unemployment.

“I sincerely hope the Government parties will respond to our call for support for this motion, instead of blindly voting against it for partisan purposes.”