Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)

The budget of 2009 provided for investment in excess of €500 million in enterprise through the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, the county and city enterprise boards and Science Foundation Ireland. It provided €100 million for the establishment of an enterprise stabilisation fund to help indigenous trading companies to reduce costs and gain sales in overseas markets; a capital investment programme of €3.1 billion, the largest per capita programme in Europe, which will help to maintain jobs in the construction industry; €100 million for the sustainable energy and green economy, which will assist and support the creation of up to 7,000 jobs; €613 billion for the 2009 building programme which will create up to 3,000 jobs; and €60 million additional funding for 16,500 training places in FÁS. The Department of Education and Science has provided €19 million to create approximately 7,000 places for those who are unemployed. We hear that the money was wasted and thrown down a black hole.

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