FG aims state-backed job schemes at under-25s

FINE GAEL has proposed a series of state-supported job initiatives for young people in an attempt to target the 83,000 people under the age of 25 who are out of work.

The party criticised the Government’s approach to youth unemployment and said the low uptake in the headline schemes announced since the downturn were a lost opportunity.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said a significant amount of the €5bn budget for social welfare payments should be spent on job creation for 30,800 young people.