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TÁNAISTE LEO VARADKAR has said people under the age of 35 are now experiencing their second recession in their adult life.
Speaking in the Dáil this afternoon about youth unemployment, he said it was “extraordinary”, but promised that the government is taking action.
Labour’s Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said with 59% of 15-24s not in work, there is a risk that Ireland will again lose a generation to emigration.
Even when the country reopens, young people are facing into job insecurity and high rents, with many “wondering why they should hang around”, he said.
“We can’t afford to lose another generation,” he added.
Varadkar acknowledged that the economic impact on young people has been huge, stating that they have suffered a lot in the pandemic.
Jobs have been lost, lives interrupted, college and education disrupted, and the lockdowns have made it difficult for young people to make friends and build relationships, he said.
He told the Dáil that he did not want Ireland to lose another generation, stating that in the past, this has happened through “economic mismanagement”.
Varadkar said there is a need to make sure “we don’t have a repeat of the last recession”, where young people left Ireland to find opportunities in other countries.
He said the government will respond to the problems, highlighting the need for catch up programmes for those that have missed out on education, as well as expanding the number of third level and apprenticeship opportunities for people.
As society reopens, the government wants to ensure that young people can get their jobs back, he added.
Ó Ríordáin said the Tánaiste had not mentioned youth unemployment once on Twitter since the beginning of this year, but had mentioned Sinn Féin 12 times.
He said a young person could come to the conclusion that Varadkar is not worried about young people and saving a generation, but is instead obsessed with a “political game with Sinn Fein”.
“I think that is just a cheap shot… a very cheap shot,” said Varadkar, who said that only last week he gave a speech at the Young Fine Gael conference where he particularly highlighted what plans there were to tackle youth unemployment.
He accused Ó Ríordáin of engaging in “virtue signalling”, stating that he was trying to make out that he is “a better person” and that he “cares more”.
How many times someone tweets about something is not a reflection of how important you think a matter is, said Varadkar.
Higher Education Minister Simon Harris met with the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) and Youth Work Ireland to discuss youth unemployment and reforms to the education and training system today.
Following the meeting, he said:
“We know over 195,000 people aged up to 34 are on a form of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment.
“As we start to consider life post-pandemic, we must work together to ensure young people are at the heart of our economy and society.
“Within my own remit, we have invested €200 million in training and education, skills development, work placement schemes, recruitment subsidies, and job search and assistance measures, to help those who have lost their jobs find a new one, retrain, or develop new skills, in particular for emerging growth sectors.
“We have also placed an emphasis on apprenticeships with the publication of a new Action Plan on Apprentices and a scheme encouraging employers to take on apprentices.”
He said the government will ensure young people are at the heart of their plans for recovery.
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Most of us never made it out of the first one
@Sean Salmon: most did. Unless like me you bought inbwhatbwouof become a ghost estate by at the very very height of the bubble during the last depression
@Sean Salmon: A 70 year old Irish person who stayed here spent the first 40 years of their lives in a recession. That would be an ‘extraordinary ‘ thing for the Kid Varadkar to realise after spending some years as Taoiseach. He really is a clueless individual.
@Gerry Ryan: Same for my 80 yr old father, hes had a few businesses and employed many over the years, screwed by successive Govs (his words). He still fighting and working every day too and all through the pandemic in my brothers garage, that he passed on to him when he supposedly retired, does a 10 hr day most days too and every Saturday. Some work ethic, but as he says that’s what it takes to keep a small local business running in Ireland.
@Gerry Ryan: yes we had to rob rubbish from the neighbours bin so as to pretend we had something to throw out
@Sean Salmon: thankfully i did, as did many others. It’s what you do with yourself in times of struggle and crisis and use your time wisely. More sit and wait for someone else to do something about it then complain when they’re still in the same situation they were in 5 years ago.
@Da Dell: well he’s of the generation that put this country on the map. Obviously a great role model.
@Sean Salmon: well said sean! That is so true.
It’s extraordinary that government are able to give themselves pay increase during recessions
@herp: Par for the course with this lot id say…
@herp: Rotten to the core arent they. Just want to seve their time, get the salary/extortionate allowances. Retire on a massive pension while making money on the side with other interests while having the inside track ….. No interest in real reform of the public sector/managing finacnes properly because it would cost votes/their ticket on the gravy train. Cant wait to see the total cost of the children’s hospital, national broadband plan, cost of covid…… Etc. If the public finances were better managed, cronyism cut out and they actually did the job they were hired for properly this country wouldn’t be in a financial mess all the time. Imagine if we didnt sell off our oil and gas rights back in the day….. Welcome to Ireland, we look after big business and the boys..
@herp:
And OAPs are still awaiting full restoration of 2008 entitlements. But. No worries for Leo. and pals
@herp: ah no but they are linked to civil service pay rises so theres nothing they can do about that. but no problem to pass a law robbing everyone else’s pensions
The only keeping young people here is the fact Australia aren’t letting anyone in
@eoin carroll: nz are looking for folk
@Jason Walsh: Canada are desperate for professionals, big boom too.
Doesn’t seem too extraordinary by historical standards. My memory is that nearly all of the 70′s and 80′s was one long recession…
@William Tallon: Truest comment ever. Having lived in the Whest of Ireland in the 80′s I can confirm this. You were at nothing all day every day, but was great, sure wasn’t everyone at f all either.
@William Tallon: you had housing though. We are desolate
Leather neck…Its his government’s thats got us here…
@Mike: No, it was the Covid.
@Luan Willis: government response to covid, as with most things FF/FG made matters worse.
@Luan Willis: Pffft, behave would ye.
@Luan Willis: Covid didn’t break the system, Covid exposed a broken system.
@Da Dell: Ha, 100%. enjoyed that… Biggest failing during the whole thing by far was having advanced notice that elderly were high risk but not much was done to protect them, particularly in nursing homes…… Closed schools two weeks before the full lockdown when they should have locked down fully well before they did. They actually protected the least at risk. (i know closing schools also reduced the amount of tramsmission). Only a small number of EU countries locked down after us.
@Luan Willis: no it was FG/FF policies.
It’s exactly the way his cronies want it, low wages, high taxes and locked into renting. All this insecurity drives people into dependency on the state.
@LaoisWeather: Nothing wrong with renting. I rent and my pension will come from investing in the S&P500. A return greater than what could be achieved with property. Banks want you to invest in property. We do not have high taxes in this country comparatively, and wages are not low either.
Does this lad ever take a day off. He is relentless
It’s a dire state of affairs alright and it hasn’t been helped by either the previous or current governments, but in the interest of perspective, the 80s were worse.
A much higher proportion of the population were in the under 35 age cohort back then, and there were virtually no prospects in Ireland. This lasted for the entire decade and didn’t lift until the early 90s. Not that Varadkar wouldn’t recognise or remember that…
@White Chapel: Was just going to comment along the same lines. I’m 40, and as far as I’m concerned have experienced 3 recessions (albeit my first one consists of memories of my mother having to put the biscuits and washing powder back at the checkout during the weekly shop, because we didn’t have enough money that week). Can only assume Varadkar has no such memories, nor have the further 2 recessions affected him much.
@White Chapel: one major difference though, housing, it wasn’t anywhere near as bad in the 80′s for housing because there were large social housing developments, now even when someone is ‘lucky’ enough to work, they’re spending 50-60% of their income on rent
Bailing out the bankers €65 billions and protecting the hse €46 billion and counting. Ffg are entirely responsible. Veruka claims that its a cheap shot blaming ffg for taking cheap shots against sf instead of taking responsibility. Everything that man says is poison. SF havnt helped, but they’re not in gov. 50 people without underlying conditions died from covid last year. Less than traffic deaths, but we don’t stop driving. Need a health system that works for health not for pharma profits, a new legal system and politicians that put people first
@Tony Ember: Ìf I read all this comments, I am surprised. I only life 25 years in this country from which I worked 15 years before retired. I love it, that is the reason I am still here. During the last recession, I didn’t lose my job, maybe I was lucky. But reading all this comments, there were a lot of recessions in Ireland and a lot of immigration, why? Maybe it is time for an other 1916 before their is any change. I don’t know, but what I know, is that the most people with ordinary jobs are not happy, or you must be a public servant or a politician. The people in Ireland had to change, not by comments on the journal but through action, ( the France way maybe). I hope to see it in my lifetime, it is maybe too short but never too late.
Yes – thank you for that
Virtue signalling… A phrase synonymous with the far right referencing leftists.
O Ríordáin is right all Varadkar and Co. care about is Sinn Féin.
Plank created this mess.
I came home 2 years ago with the intention of staying for just a year with my partner. Then the pandemic hit. Really eager to get out again soon. Once you experience a better quality of life abroad, its hard to settle here. Rents in Dublin are painful.
@Joey: But aren’t rents painful everywhere, especially in the English speaking world.
Doesn’t effect him or any of the other muppets
We built a house of sand. Now we have to live in it. What’s really extraordinary is that we let this happen, over and over again. Private wealth, public squalor. #howirelandworks
This govt is on life support. The fact that they have not sorted housing and healthcare is their downfall. They don’t care about young people. They see them as a cash cow…. hope SF are getting ready to lead
@Diarmuid O’Braonáin: They don’t care because they know young people throw their vote away, either by not voting at all because ‘whats the point?!’ or just voting whoever shows up on the lampposts near their house the most (FFG)
@Paul Cunningham: stats are showing the opposite. The voter profile who vote FF & FG are older people and every election are getting older. The profile voting for SF are the majority of the younger voters and its growing
@Diarmuid O’Braonáin: Be careful what you wish for
@John O: Housing and a health system that works, proper financial regulation by the central bank. Kicking out vulture funds and cookoo funds. Making housing affordable for our young people. Council houses and an end to homelessness. Tougher laws against white collar crime. ect ect
I am 47 and this is at least the third in my memory to experience. In school they would promote buying Irish and said “When you leave Ireland remember to keep buying Irish” the standard of living is a lot higher than in the 80s
@Craic_a_tower: agree, im 48, on my third emigration stint albeit this time was more my choice. Sickens me to see the cheap buy online response to many comments on covid stuff, wonder if these people would be as quick to buy something online if it meant possible loss of their job, even here i try as much as possible to buy Irish.
Yes and mostly caused by you and your cronies
The sheer neck of the privileged git
Jesus I am on my third only 44 lol /
But he’s not!!! Bleeding the country dry with their huge Salaries and Pensions and happy to do so… CORRUPTION galore…
Oh feck off Leo!
How is it extraordinary? What did he think would happen? Clueless.!!!!
Recession in some part cause by incompetent politicians, bankers, builders and so called captains of industry?
For those of us who grew up in the 50s and 60s, we saw nothing but recession up.to the age of 35.
Certainly it’s tough at the minute, but there’s no comparison.
@John Mulligan:
It’s an overpriced dump basically.
Bar the few years of the good life.this country has been in recession for decades
Jesus I am on my third only 44 lol
Meanwhile some others show what comes outa the other side of his mouth too.
Covid: Varadkar ‘not as confident’ over reopening pace as some days ago
@Da Dell: As soon as it was announced Holohan was coming back they all started back pedalling.
Leo and his Young FG ers know very little about recessions.
This is the same government that decided to make people keep working past retirement age?
Wait when did we get out of the last recession again exactly….is leo doing a MM and pretending his former boss clown shoes Edna Kenny didn’t make us pay back every cent of debt FF dumped on our backs to bailout their developer and banker mates along with the unsecured bondholders….gee golly darn it, I must have had dementia the last decade or more so
At least in the past recession people had housing!
And at least in the past recession house prices collasped and people could get cheap houses
I think life is worse now then in the 80s and 50s. All we have more is ryanair, in those days everyone had a home
not really I lived in england here and in my 50s and can remember 5. so they basically happen every 7to years. no great science involved just boom and bust policies from all sides.
@ed w:
Worse here though. It’s like a never ending recession sometimes.
@billy bound: It’s worse here because Ireland has massive growth and when there is a recession there is a bigger drop. Instead of trying to slow down growth, governments do the exact opposite to get voted back in, they reduce taxes and increase spending. Then when the recession comes they increase taxes and reduce spending which means recessions last for years and years. Smart governments would do the opposite.
Extraordinary?
Stop being so condescending.
Bad governments with vested interests caused these both.
He’s nothing but a condescending prat
This is my fourth or fifth not emergration again though
It’s extraordinary leo the leak still has a job. Corrupt snivelling s4itehawk that he is
I’m sure mammy and daddy Varadkar will give us all a few bob.. a deposit etc
They’ve done nothing to stop rents escalating only fuelled it and they couldn’t care less and will so nothing about it.
The most shocking thing is that despite two recession, people who have been employed throughout still can’t afford a house.
People under the age of 35? Shouldn’t that be over the age of 35.
It’s not ‘extraordinary’ at all. It’s obvious… lets keep it up, I guess.
Wait for all the “back in my day I had to leave the house twenty minutes before I went to bed just to go to school” comments. Yes there’s were bad before, but what compounds this situation now days is the housing problem and lack of it. This is the first generation that is worse off than their parents before them
For as long as l can remember we have been in and out of recession all of my life. In the 50s there was more a depression as opposed to a recession. In the 60s things got a bit better. In the 70s we had the oil crisis and a huge amount of strikes with income tax at 65% and mortgage rates at 19%. The 80s more recession and huge emigration this continued to the mid 90s. Then the 00s when the economy took off and then crashed and burned. So to say anyone under 35 is experiencing a second recession is nonsense.
Sadly I experienced 3+ recessions before I was 35 (1999), some ran into the next one they were so close together.
The worse for me was the currency crisis as I had just bought a house and trying to pay interest rates of 14.5% is not something I will ever forget.
Every generation has it own crisis and its devastating regardless of when it happens.
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