The Order of Business is No. 1, Further Education and Training Bill 2013 - Committee Stage, to be taken at the conclusion of the Order of Business and conclude not later than 1.30 p.m.; as no amendments have been submitted to the Bill, I propose we deal with Committee and Remaining Stages today, if Members agree; No. 2, Thirty-second Amendment of the Constitution (Abolition of Seanad Éireann) Bill 2013 - Second Stage (resumed), to be taken at 1.30 p.m. and adjourned not later than 4 p.m.; and No. 4, Private Members' business, Food Provenance Bill 2013 - Second Stage, to be taken at 4.30 p.m. and conclude not later than 6.30 p.m.

We will not oppose that aspect of the Order of Business, but some colleagues may have an amendment to propose. The Taoiseach and the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, are elsewhere in Europe today to consider the issue of youth unemployment and the moneys that will be made available Europe-wide for that purpose. That is welcome and hope it will lead to tangible action on the ground in job creation here, as opposed to some woolly policy that will not deliver on the ground. It is extremely worrying to see Europe-wide the level of youth unemployment as high as it is.

Sadly, yesterday we had further bad news with Ulster Bank announcing it would close a further 40 branches. The Irish Bank Officials Association, IBOA, has stated up to 1,850 jobs are at risk, although the bank has denied this.

The IBOA said up to 1,850 jobs were at risk although that has been denied by the bank. In any event, it is a significant blow. Further redundancies to take place in Hewlett-Packard meant that yesterday was quite a dark day.

The Leader of the Opposition referred to the mortgage arrears crisis in the House yesterday. The Leader of the Seanad mentioned that the Central Bank legislation presented an ideal opportunity to raise such issues but I take issue with that. This is a silent crisis and requires a debate. It requires a rolling debate because what I predicted in 2009 when on the other side of the House and what was predicted at the time by Fine Gael Members, including Senator Healy Eames, is now bringing itself to bear. The Dunne judgment, which found a loophole in the conveyancing and land Acts that prevented repossessions, will now be undone by the Government. The chief risk officer for Ulster Bank implied that the bank intends to plough ahead with repossessions as a matter of urgency, and he estimated that up to 35% of defaulters are strategic defaulters. I do not believe the Leader believes that those families throughout the country who are struggling at present are strategic defaulters. I regret very much that the code of conduct will strengthen the hand of the banks and weaken that of struggling families. The code of conduct prevents the potential for success of aspects of the insolvency legislation introduced by the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter. We must have a meaningful debate on this issue and introduce tangible measures that will give real relief to people. We must not leave the fox in charge of the henhouse. The banks cannot be trusted and this has been proven time and again. We have heard tapes in recent weeks and now the banks cannot be trusted to put the people first. They always put themselves first and it is our responsibility to face up to that and do something about it.

I join Senator MacSharry in expressing great regret over the announcements yesterday of job losses in Ulster Bank and Hewlett-Packard. This is most disappointing and regrettable. However, we are hearing positive news today in terms of the vote that we hope MEPs will support the EU budget, the seven-year budget worth €690 million. The negotiations on this were led by the Tánaiste, Deputy Eamon Gilmore, who is in Strasbourg today to be present for the vote. Critical to the vote on the budget is the emphasis on the youth guarantee. As others stated, this is important across the European Union, which has appalling levels of youth unemployment. The guarantee, which was pioneered by Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, will be very specific. What we are seeing is a front-loading of €6 billion in the EU youth employment initiative. It is to be spent in 2014 and 2015 to ensure the guarantee can be given. The intention is to guarantee those who do not find a job within four months of leaving school further education, a training place or employment under the programmes. It is vital that the budget be passed so we can give effect to the guarantee.

There is another vote in Europe that is of great interest to us here, namely, the vote on the European Ombudsman. I wish Ms Emily O'Reilly luck with that vote. She is the favourite to succeed and would be a really excellent European Ombudsman.

I welcome the passage of Second Stage in the Dáil yesterday of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill. It was an historic day, 21 years after the X case judgment, in that the Oireachtas finally took responsibility for passing legislation to give effect to the Supreme Court judgment. I look forward to the debate in this House.

In due course, we will be debating in this House the whistleblower legislation, the Protected Disclosures in the Public Interest Bill, which the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform is publishing today. One of its objectives is the protection of confidential communication between members of the public and Members of the Oireachtas. This is the kind of measure we need to see put in place to ensure that more robust inquiries can be conducted by the Oireachtas.