Each week in the run up to the General Election, JOE is asking a representitive from each of the main political parties to answer a burning question relevant to Irish men in 2011.
We’re not putting any spin on their answers: we ask the question, they give us their answers, and we print what they tell us.
Representing Fine Gael on our virtual panel of Dáil Deputies is the TD for Meath West Damien English.
Question: “What would you do, and do quickly, to stop the flood of young bright Irish men leaving our shores? Does it really make a difference which party leads the government, as many of these young men have lost faith in Ireland and can’t see a reason to stay, let alone stay and vote?”
Answered by Fine Gael’s Damien English TD
Fine Gael’s 5 Point Plan to Get Ireland Working contains a series of measures offering opportunities to thousands of the 100,000 people predicted to emigrate in the next two years.
Fine Gael’s plans include proposals for:
• 23,000 new internship places for unemployed graduates;
• 17,000 second chance education places for former retail and construction workers;
• 5,000 new Community Employment plans;
• 700 guaranteed work placements for apprentices until they complete their course;
• A completely overhauled FÁS that can provide enhanced and targeted training opportunities for the over 25s.
Knocking on doors in this election campaign has been a reflection of the stories I have heard over the past two years of people having to leave Ireland to find work, except I am hearing them all at once. There is no place for the body politic to hide anymore in the face of the sheer stem of people leaving the country.
Fine Gael is not prepared to lose this talent without a fight.
I’ve been struck by the number of people who have told me about their sons and daughters who have had to emigrate to find work. We are losing our best talent – the very people who want to work and have contributed to the economy. In order to work, these same people have to leave Ireland and move to other countries.
We must do everything we possibly can to provide jobs, training and placement opportunities here at home. Fine Gael is not prepared to lose this talent without a fight. Earlier in this campaign we set out our detailed job creation plans and today we are setting out plans for new training and placement opportunities for those seeking work and re-skilling.
Fine Gael’s National Internship Programme will provide 23,000 one year placements in the public service, private sector and voluntary sector for unemployed graduates. IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland will be explicitly mandated to develop 5,000 work experience placements in the companies that they support.
We will create 700 apprenticeship guarantee places that will offer unemployed craft apprentices direct employment by State agencies or semi-States until their apprenticeship is completed.
As part of Fine Gael’s wider public sector reform plans, a single Payments and Entitlements Service will be established to overhaul the way training is provided for the unemployed. This service will take on the role of the employment services section.
We will introduce a scheme of Training Vouchers so people on the dole can access training that meets their individual needs and speed up a return to the workforce. We want to eliminate the practice of forcing unemployed people to attend redundant, unnecessary or unsuitable training courses for the sake of it.
Damien English TD is standing for election as a Fine Gael candidate in the Meath West constituency. Check out Damien’s website at www.damienenglish.ie
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