The National Youth Council of Ireland has urged the Government to restore the higher rate of Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) for all under-25s who are unemployed, and to deliver a massive jobs support package to assist them.
The youth council notes that the Covid-19 pandemic has hit the employment prospects of young people hard, with over a third of under-25s in the labour force - 36.5% - currently out of work.
It says that while this age group comprises just 11% of the workforce, it accounts for 21% of PUP recipients - and that the situation is made worse because emigration is largely closed off.
Responding to a Parliamentary Question from Labour Finance Spokesperson Ged Nash, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection