Danny Healy-Rae: Calls for youth work rights and student housing
Danny Healy-Rae addressed youth employment, student accommodation and the SUSE grant in a parliamentary contribution. He urged the minister to remove barriers that stop 14–16-year-olds working, to exempt holiday earnings from SUSE grant assessments, and to tackle affordable student housing.
Youth employment and work experience
Healy-Rae argued that youngsters need opportunities to work and learn practical skills. He highlighted an obstacle that prevents restaurants and hotels employing 14, 15 and 16 year olds and said young people should be allowed to work without being overburdened.
Holiday earnings and SUSE grant treatment
He drew attention to the current limit on holiday earnings of 4500 and said it is wrong to stop youngsters earning more during holidays. He specifically appealed that holiday earnings should not be counted when students apply for the SUSE grant.
Student accommodation pressures
Healy-Rae described a group of young people from Clarny who must drive long distances to college because they cannot find local accommodation. He said the daily travel places a desperate strain on their studies and called for more affordable student housing.
Local roots and school transport pride
He reflected on his family’s long history operating a school bus to Kilgaren National School since 1956 and expressed pride in seeing former pupils become accountants, solicitors and teachers. He used this experience to underline the importance of keeping young people occupied and supported.
Appeal to the minister
Healy-Rae thanked the minister for the opportunity to raise these issues and appealed directly for policy changes to remove employment barriers for youth and to adjust SUSE grant assessments to reflect holiday earnings.
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I am grateful to get the opportunity and I wish to thank Minister Rowan for giving us this opportunity to discuss things that we need to do to help youngsters. Of course, Cian Comhairle, since 1956, since my father started operating a school bus service to Kilgaren National School and since he gave it up, I've been doing it and it gives me great, how to say, pride in the fact when you see them start me out so small, get into the bus or the school car as it was then and the way many of them have finished up, accountants, solicitors, teachers, you have it and you'll be very proud to have assisted them in any way back along the line. I suppose what we're talking about is to do more for children and I suppose the main thing is to keep them occupied and you'll find that's easier maybe in a farm or whatever, they all have jobs to do but it's very important. that youngsters are allowed work minister and there is an obstacle there that bars restaurants and hotels from employing 14 and 15 and 16 year olds and look we don't want to kill them with work or anything but they would be in the better of it. They'd be learning something, how to do the different jobs or whatever and sport is very important and I see young fellas that I brought to school myself going back a few years playing hurling at the weekend and fine men and doing a great job and would be proud. There's things there like minister in relation to affordable accommodation for students going to college. We had a group of young girls and boys from Clarny, they came up here outside the Dahl and it was last Thursday week and they actually have to drive from Kerry up to Cot because they can't get accommodation. So that's a desperate strain on them to drive up in the morning before college and come down after it and try to study and get ready and get out on the road the next day. That's very hard on them, Minister. The other thing is, they're deprived from working during their holidays, they can't earn more than 4500. It's very wrong to stop youngsters as a working minister and if they earn a bit more than that, there should be no regulation stopping them of doing that minister. And I actually say to you that that money shouldn't be counted when they're applying for the SUSE grant at all. Whatever the year that is, because if you stop youngsters from working, it's very important to allow them and get them to work when they're young because if they go on after college and they haven't worked a little bit, they certainly won't stop them. So it's very important that that obstacle be removed and take note of the SUSE grant equation. I'm appealing to you to look at it, Minister. Thank you very much, Deputy Healy Ray. Thanks.
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