The Government should establish a ‘youth guarantee’ in the shortest possible timeframe, the Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation urged yesterday.

In a new report the committee said that such a guarantee would help tackle the serious problem of youth and long-term unemployment.

“A ‘youth guarantee’ would ensure all young people under 25 are offered continued education , an apprenticeship or traineeship within four months of becoming unemployed,” the committee vice-chairman John Lyons said yesterday.

He added that ‘youth guarantees’ have been used in several regions around the world including Austria, the UK, Sweden and New Zealand”.

The report also recommended that the Government, in collaboration with industry, consider rolling out a national youth strategy on entrepreneurship.