Labour MEP Emer Costello, has said that €40 to €50 million of the €150 million expected to be ring-fenced for the Youth Guarantee in Ireland should be poured into communities around Dublin where youth unemployment is worst.
Speaking at a seminar on youth unemployment today MEP Costello said: “One-third of young Irish people now out of work live in Dublin. There are 17,400 young people on the live register, not to mention young people who have fallen through the cracks and are not in education, employment or training, the so-called ‘NEETS’ category. This prevents them from playing an active role in society and indeed it alienates them.
“That is why today I am calling for €40 to €50 million of the funding ring-fenced for Ireland’s Youth Guarantee programme to be targeted at communities across Dublin which have been identified as having the most pronounced youth unemployment problems.
Since becoming Dublin’s MEP, Emer has championed the European Youth Guarantee and welcomed the agreement reached to provide €8 billion for youth employment initiatives. The next six months will be crucial for the design and implementation of the Guarantee in Ireland. 
The purpose of the event today was to hear views from key stakeholders, policymakers and young people themselves on how this should be done.
and to investigate how we can roll-out the Youth Guarantee to communities such as Tallaght, Ballyfermot, the Inner City and Balbriggan, once the pilot project is completed in Ballymun.
One of the speakers at the event, Mick Creedon, Manager of the Ballymun Jobs Centre, who will host the pilot project of the Youth Guarantee, said:
“The Ballymun pilot provides an ideal opportunity to design and test a youth guarantee scheme that meets the needs of young unemployed living in disadvantaged areas like Ballymun. The pilot will also bring much needed resources into the area to support young people to develop a career plan and to access education, training, work experience and employment.
The BJC will work to ensure the pilot is a success and in particular to ensure the experience of young people in Ballymun and organisations working in the area influences the implementation of the pilot. It is important that the lessons for the local pilot experience are taken on board in the formation a future youth guarantee scheme. The BJC is looking forward to working with the partners in the pilot at a local and national level.
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