Minister Leo Varadkar in pledge to move 20k ‘from welfare to work’

Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar has pledged to tackle inter-generational unemployment and aims to get the number of people out of work down to 5% by the end of this year.

Free dental care and optical benefits for all PRSI contributors will also be introduced in two phases this year, the Fine Gael minister writes in today’s Irish Examiner.

A priority for 2017 will be helping families get jobs, where both parents and children were out of work, he said.