Creating Policies that Work - Actions to Tackle Youth and Long-Term Unemployment

Today, I co-launched the Oireachtas Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Committee's report which aims to address the twin scourges of youth and long-term unemployment.

The cross-party report -  Creating Policies that Work; Actions to Address Youth and Long-Term Unemployment - recommends 35 policy actions that need to be taken in the short, medium and long term to tackle unemployment.


The Facts

Youth unemployment is Ireland is currently 29.9% and long-term unemployment accounted for 59.5% of those out of work in late 2012.

These figures also disguise challenges of poor literacy, structural unemployment, inadequate skills and concentrations of unemployment in certain areas.

For these reasons, we need more tailored approaches to these challenges.

The Report

Creating Policies that Work takes a three-pronged approach to the jobs crisis with recommendations which:

1) Keep young people and jobseekers engaged with the jobs market through work placement, training and education

2) Focus on securing funding for investment and job creation; and

3) Match jobseekers with suitable jobs, with the co-operation of the public and private sectors.

The report also breaks policy recommendation down into short, medium and long-term goals. The key recommendations that can be introduced in the short term are a Youth Guarantee, Social Clauses in public procurement contracts, a Part-Time Jobs Opportunity Programme (as recommended by Social Justice Ireland) and a Youth Entrepreneurship Fund.

I have championed several of these initiatives since I was elected and a decision is due very soon on funding for a pilot Youth Guarantee scheme in Ballymun. Also, Minister Howlin recently confirmed his commitment to examine the use of social clauses in public contracts.

I will be working -  in my capacity of vice-chair of the Jobs Committee  - to see that these 35 recommendations in Creating Policies that Work are considered and implemented by Government to complement existing initiatives like Pathways to Work and the Action Plan on Jobs.

More Information and Read the Report

You can read the full report online here.

Please also feel free to contact me on john.lyons@oir.ie or 01 618 3280 if you want to discuss the area of unemployment of give any feedback on the report's recommendations.

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Lowering the Voting Age

The first Constitutional Convention Plenary Meeting of 2013, held on 26th - 27th January, voted in favour of lowering the voting age from 18 to 16 for all elections. These recommendations will be presented to the Government for decision along with the Convention's other decisions.

Caoimhe Troy, a TY student on work experience in my office this week (and interesting week to be in Leinster House!) talks about the pros and cons of reducing the voting age to include those under 18.

The recent proposal to reduce the voting age from 18 to 16 (or 17) has sparked a lot of speculation nationwide. There has been mixed reaction to this new idea, some positive, others negative. A recent Irish opinion poll showed that 30% of people were for the motion, 56% against, and 14% had no opinion. As a sixteen-year-old myself, I'm not certain with which side my loyalty lies. I can see and appreciate both sides of the argument. 

Taking the side in favour of the motion first:

                                                                      The Pros

• When young people turn 16, they are entitled to other rights, for example, they can drive and pay tax. Can't the right to vote go in the same basket as all of the other rights at seventeen?

• At school, all teenagers study C.S.P.E (Civic, Social and Political Education). Voting while still at school i.e. aged 16 or 17 would be a great way to put the values learned in C.S.P.E into practice. 

• Usually when teenagers reach 18, they have left secondary school, and have moved on to employment or college. As a result of this, they haven't an awful lot of knowledge about voting. If the voting age was reduced, young people would still be in school when they are eligible to vote. They could then be taught in school about voting, and be more informed about the subject when needs be. I think if this was the case, young people would be more likely to vote as they have more confidence knowing more about it.  

           However, some very good points are made by those against reducing the voting age:

                                                            The Cons

• Some of the people in my age bracket have a great interest in politics. However, a lot of them feel disconnected from it.  This is possibly because they feel they don't have a voice in the world of politics today. If the voting age is reduced, I feel that only a small percentage of                                                                sixteen or seventeen-year-olds would vote.

• Turning 18 is something of a milestone for young people. This is because in the eyes of society, you are recognised as an adult when you turn 18. Another reason is that you are entitled to new rights, such as consuming alcohol, and of course, voting. If the voting age was reduced, some people believe it would take away  from the sense of pride and new-found responsibility people feel when they turn 18.

• Finally, reducing the voting age might not be a wise idea because different people mature at different ages. At 16, a lot of teenagers haven't fully matured, and might be unable to make an accurate or sensible vote. The ability to vote, or the feeling of being obliged to vote brings a new stress to the lives of teenagers, who are that bit younger than 18, and not quite as mature.

As I've said before, I'm between two minds on the subject of reducing the voting age. However, I think I'm more inclined to veer towards the side against the proposal. This is because I strongly agree with the point about turning 18 being an important societal milestone.

Saying that, I really do believe that whatever decision is made will bring its own advantages to politics in Ireland. In particular, that we are debating the role of young people in politics in the first place and how we engage our youth with politics is a positive measure.


For more information on The Constitutional Convention and the upcoming issues it will consider, you can visit https://www.constitution.ie/

A Student's Response to the Action Plan on Bullying

My name is Caoimhe Troy and I am a Transition Year student. I am currently doing a week of Work Experience here in John's office in Leinster House. I am delighted to get the opportunity to voice my opinion on bullying and the new Action Plan on Bullying.

Any type of bullying can have major impacts on people my age, both physically and mentally, as well as emotionally. In my school, we describe bullying as being Hurtful, Aggressive, Repeated and Deliberate (HARD). In 2010,  24.3% of students aged 10-17 reported that they were bullied at least once at school in the past few months. That's almost one out of every four girls in my year, which is absolutely horrific, in my opinion.

Thankfully, with the help of Minister Quinn and Minister Fitzgerald, steps have recently been taken to launch an Action Plan on Bullying. This is in response to the hurtful behaviour occurring both inside and outside schools nationwide. The Action Plan recommends twelve actions, including:

• A media campaign targeted at young people focused on cyber bullying.
• New national anti-bullying procedures for all schools to be in place next year.
• Department of Education and Skills support for the Stand Up! Awareness Week Against Homophobic Bullying.

As a student myself, I welcome the approach promoted by the Action Plan, and I genuinely think it will be extremely effective.

In my opinion, Homophobic, Racist, and especially Cyber Bullying are becoming increasingly active forms of bullying. The Internet offers us a great connection to friends and family. However, over the past few years, the Internet can also be a very unsafe place for people my age not just in Ireland, but worldwide.

• In 2011, 17% of children reported being a victim of Cyber Bullying. 
• A recent survey showed that 30% of teachers had witnessed a racist incident in that past month.
• It also showed that four out of five teachers were aware of homophobic bullying in their school.

As a teenager myself, I have seen first hand the devastating effects of bullying. It can make teenagers doubt themselves, lose all confidence and feel worthless. In 2010,  1198 people under nineteen were treated in hospitals all over Ireland for self-harm. I find this appalling  I believe that nobody should be made feel so terrible about themselves that they would inflict pain on themselves.

As you can see, serious changes need to be made. Despite all of these negative figures, I believe from the bottom of my heart that the new Action Plan for Bullying will make our schools and communities a safer and happier place for people my age.

The Action Plan on Bullying can be viewed on the Department of Education's website here.

Community Grants Scheme - Reminder

Dublin City Council's Community and Voluntary Grants Scheme 2013

Dublin City Council provide grants to community groups and organisations each year through their Grants Scheme. 

The scheme closes this year at 5pm on Thursday January 31st. 

The Grants scheme is specifically aimed at increasing community participation and the funding for 2013 aims to address issues such as social inclusion and integration of marginalised groups. 

More information on applying for the scheme and application forms can be downloaded on the Council's website here: http://www.dublincity.ie/Community/pages/applyforacommunitygrant.aspx

You can also contact Lois Salmon in Dublin City Council on 01 222 5414 if you have any questions on completing the application. 

Please feel free to contact me on 01 618 3280 or john.lyons@oir.ie if I can be of any assistance or answer any further questions. 

Finglas Safety Forum Meetings 2013

Finglas Safety Forum meetings are returning for 2013 if you would like to attend the meetings and raise any local issues of concern. 

Safety Forum meetings allow local residents to raise any concerns about crime, anti-social behaviour, estate management and other local issues with Dublin City Council, local Gardaí and other stakeholders so solutions can be found. 

This year there will be four local fora meetings in each area (Finglas West, South and East). 

The dates for these Finglas Safety Forum meetings for 2013 have now been released:

Finglas West

Mon 4^th Feb at 7.30pm in Finglas West Scouts Den Hall

Mon 25^th March at 7.30pm in Finglas Celtic FC Hall

Mon 20^th May at 7.30pm in Finglas West Scouts Den Hall

Mon 11^th Nov at 7.30pm in Finglas Celtic FC Hall

Finglas South

Tue 12^th Feb at 7pm in St Helena’s House

Tue 16^th April at 7pm in the Den Youth Services

Tue 11^th June at 7pm in St Helena’s House

Tue 3^rd Dec at 7pm in St Helena’s House

Finglas East

Mon 25^th Feb at 7.30pm in St Canice’s Boys School

Mon 22^nd April at 7.30pm in St Canice’s Boys School

Mon 24^th June at 7.30pm in St Canice’s Boys School

Mon 9^th Dec at 7.30pm in St Canice’s Boys School

Finglas Safety Forum meetings are open to anyone who would like to pass on concerns about their local area or who would like to get involved in their community. If you have any questions about which meetings to attend or how to raise an issue, you can contact the Safety Forum Coordinator Ciara Gibbons on ciara.loye@finglascabraldtf.ie or visit www.finglassafetyforum.ie

You can also contact me on 01 618 3280 or john.lyons@oir.ie if you would like to discuss any concerns and I can raise any issues at the safety forum meetings on your behalf. 

My Submission to An Bord Pleanala on the proposed Amusement Arcade in Finglas Village

The Secretary,

An Bord Pleanala,

64 Marlborough Street,

Dublin 1

                                                                                                                                  16^th November 2012

Dear Sir/Madam,

We wish to make an observation in relation to the An Bord Pleanala Case reference PL29N.24122 on the appeal against a decision by Dublin City Council to part refuse the planning application reference number 3032/12.

The basis of our objection is primarily to do with the inappropriateness of this use within Finglas Village and the concerns expressed to us by local residents about the proposal. We previously outlined these to Dublin City Council prior to their issuance of a split decision to refuse permission for the amusement arcade element of the proposal.

We wish to state that we support business development in Finglas Village and do not oppose the internet café element of the permission.

In relation to the appeal against the split decision of Dublin City Council we wish to make the following points;

   - The future development of Finglas Village should be based on making the village a vibrant and sustainable commercial centre. This involves the provision of a wide retail and service offering based on the needs of the local community and which promote Finglas village as a shopping destination.

     - The Dublin City Development Plan 2012 -2017 shares the above aim and it identifies Finglas Village as key district centre. While the stated internet café/amusement use is a permissible use under the Z4 zoning, we believe the proposed development is not conducive to the development of the village in line with the objectives of the district centre designation.

     - From our engagement with local residents on this issue, the belief in the area is that amusement arcades can give a negative perception to a main street.  Much work has been done in recent years by the Tolka Area Partnership, the City Council, local businesses and local interest groups, amongst others, to promote and develop Finglas Village. This work is based on a shared belief about how the village should develop based on a varied and complementary service offering. This valuable work is at an advanced stage and any proposal that has the possibility of detrimentally affecting this work by means of a negative perception of the main street should not be allowed.

     - Significantly, this potential for a negative perception is considered locally to possibly be a major impediment to the ability of Finglas Village to compete with the City Centre and Charlestown Shopping Centre as a retail destination.

     -  Finglas village already has six betting shops and we believe the amusement arcade aspect of the application is targeted at a market that is already very well provided for.

     - In the appeal documents submitted to An Bord Pleanala on the 24^th of October 2012 the applicant’s agent states that under the Z4 zoning, amusement arcades are ‘normally permitted’. Given that nature of this application, and the potential for a precedent to be established in the area, I think it is important to note that ‘permissible’ means that it is an allowed use but that does not equate to ‘normally permitted’ which we feel is an important distinction.

- We also note with concern two planning permissions for amusement arcades refused by Local Authorities then appealed to An Bord Pleanala (appeal references PL35 .240508 and PL06F.239466) resulting in recommendations issued by the An Bord Pleanala Inspectors reports for refusal for the amusement element of the applications, only to be granted on a temporary basis by the Board. In both instances, the planning policy in the locality was based on the principles of protecting and enhancing the amenities and character of the town/village centre. The same planning principles apply in Finglas Village and we respectfully request that the views expressed to us by local residents and interest groups be heard and permission, even on a temporary basis, not be allowed to proceed.

In summary, it is our belief that this proposal would not be complementary to the future development of Finglas Village and we therefore oppose the amusement arcade element of this planning application.

With best wishes,

John Lyons TD

Cllr John Redmond

Cllr Steve Wrenn

Cheque for €50 enclosed.                   

Response to the death of Savita Halappanavar

I have been contacted by a huge number of constituents in the last 24 hours as the details of the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar have emerged.

I share the serious concerns that so many people have expressed to me and I want to assure you that implementing the recommendations of the Expert Group report is a key issue for the Labour Party in Government.

As many people are aware, the Programme for Government negotiated by both Labour and Fine Gael on forming government contains the following commitment:

"We acknowledge the recent ruling of the European Court of Human Rights subsequent to the established ruling of the Irish Supreme Court on the X-case. We will establish an expert group to address this issue, drawing on appropriate medical and legal expertise with a view to making recommendations to Government on how this matter should be properly addressed."

I understand this report was presented to the Minister for Health on Tuesday and will be considered by the Cabinet shortly and I am assured the Government will act on foot of the report. I will work with my colleagues so that this is the case.

The shocking and tragic news of the death of Savita Halappanavar underlines the importance of acting on this matter. It also highlights the need to provide legal certainty and legal clarity, for situations like this, and I have no doubt that the Government will act on foot of the Group’s recommendations as a matter of urgency.

I am in agreement with Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore’s comments on this matter yesterday which stated:

"It's a heartbreaking case and I must say I was very upset reading it and hearing about it.  We need in this country to provide legal certainty, legal clarity, for a situation where a woman is requesting a termination of pregnancy in circumstances like this and that's why we decided to establish the Expert Group to look at the ABC case and to make recommendations to Government on what steps we can take to deal with that. That group has now completed its work, and has submitted its report to Minister for Health. We need to give our response to the Council of Europe by end of November, so I expect we will be considering the Expert Group report between now and end of  November and dealing with it then.  

"This issue has been with us now for 20 years and this is the first Government that has decided that were are going to deal with it.  We put place a process, an Expert Group chaired by Judge Ryan to address all of the issues, to make recommendations to us. That Expert  Group looked for an extension on the period of time they needed to consider the issues. It is a complex and sensitive area. They have now completed their work, submitted their report to Minister for Health and we will deal with it promptly.

"We need to provide legal clarity.....  Before this incredibly tragic and heartbreaking case we had already determined as a Government that we were going to deal with this by having the Expert Group and getting their recommendations."

I share the very strong feelings that have been expressed to me over the last 24 hours and I will be working with my party colleagues to act on the recommendations of the report as matter of priority.

Please feel free to call me on 618 3280 or john.lyons@oir.ie if you would like to discuss this matter further.