Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I second the motion and cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I will continue the theme started by my friend and colleague about good news in the economy. Before it is dismissed as being of little relevance, those of us who have had the opportunity of travelling abroad or of reading international comment about Ireland over the past 12 months could not help being aware that all the comments coming from this country, from politics or other areas of Irish society, are picked up by international investors and those who see the country as a possible area of investment. Perhaps they have been influenced, sadly, in a negative way.

The current edition of Tourism Matters, produced by Fáilte Ireland, has comments from Shaun Quinn, its chief executive, in a wide-ranging review of the year and hopes for the coming year. He indicates that there is understandable apprehension about the season ahead, given:

[T]he continuing flow of negative economic comment, as well as the pressures now confronting our own economy. Yet there are straws of recovery in the wind which offer the prospect of the beginnings of a turnaround in our fortunes.

To continue in that vein, I suggest that this debate affords us an opportunity to speak about good news involving our economy. The message that has predominated, particularly in the political arena, is one of negativity and a certain cynicism about the country and its prospects for recovery, which are not helpful. I appreciate that political charge and counter-charge is the meat and drink of politics but over the past 12 months it has gone way beyond what might be termed, in legal parlance, fair comment in order to get a headlong rush for parties opposite to get into government.

For example, Deputy Joan Burton used the word "banjaxed" on one occasion in reference to the country, which I found offensive coming from someone for whom I have a great deal of respect and who has a long history and tradition of positive political debate in this country. She will more than likely be a senior member of the incoming Government. I would venture to suggest that when she does take her position in the Government, I doubt we will hear the word "banjaxed" coming from her at any stage. Whereas we face domestic difficulties caused by reduced consumer demand and the fall-out from the property sector, the export economy is performing at its highest ever level, with output at €161 billion. It has been suggested that the figure could go even higher in 2011.

The success of the multinational sector is well known but I would like to focus on the indigenous agrifood sector. This has become a key driver of the export expansion, especially during the final quarter of last year. This sector of the economy, which was regarded as a sunset industry by certain quarters a few years ago, is now a real driver of our recovery. There were clear signs throughout the year that the manufacturing and agrifood industries were repositioning themselves by shedding costs and moving up the value chain, exploiting renewed growth in global markets. The Irish agrifood sector grew by 8% and is expected to grow by as much again into 2011. The growth in this sector is due to global demand, improved commodity prices and changes in the EU policy on agricultural output incentives. The Irish Farmers Association, in a statement earlier today, indicated that farm incomes had shown a significant increase over the past 12 months, which all sides of the House would welcome.

There were clear signs throughout the year that manufacturing and agrifood sectors were repositioning themselves. The life sciences sector, which includes products such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, currently accounts for 63% of total Irish merchandise exports and it grew by 12% in 2010. It is expected that this sector will continue to grow as the growth has been phenomenal over recent years, especially since the financial tsunami of 2008.

Whereas world trade growth is expected to slow this year, the Irish Exporters Association is still projecting total Irish exports will increase by 7.2% this year, due to a weaker euro against sterling and the dollar, to a new high of €172.6 billion, which is an extraordinary sum of money in the current international environment. I suggest that this indicates a growth in the global economy which I hope can be fostered and encouraged, especially by the larger markets of the United States and the eurozone led by Germany.

There are some pertinent statistics in the foreign direct investment area. We are number one in the world for jobs created by foreign direct investment and figures released by IDA Ireland show that almost 11,000 new jobs were created in 2010, more than double the number created in 2009. I know that on the negative side some 9,000 jobs were lost in the sector, although we emerged from the year in positive numbers.

The message that should be conveyed from this Parliament and from the country in general to the international community is that Ireland is ranked ninth from 183 countries in the world by the World Bank in terms of ease of doing business. The 2008 to 2012 business environment ranking of the Economist Intelligence Unit placed Ireland 11th of 82 countries globally. The 2010 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook ranked Ireland fourth for the availability of skilled labour and sixth for labour productivity. It is no wonder that international companies are increasingly looking to Ireland as a location for their business. Not only do we have a fine location on the periphery of Europe as part of the European Union, we also have a highly skilled workforce. A figure that astonished me indicated that in people aged 18 to 30, the percentage of those with third level education in this country was almost 45%, or double the European average. It is no wonder that Ireland is seen as an attractive location for foreign direct investment.

The recovery in Irish manufacturing has finally started to translate into jobs and I refer the House to a paragraph in the national recovery plan published before Christmas. It pointed out that from 1994 to 2000, we were an export-led economy. That was before property bubbles, tax incentives or anything of that nature after 2000. In that period the country demonstrated an increase in population and employment which was export led. It suggests that a successful model from that period can be harnessed, although I readily acknowledge that two separate Administrations delivered on that success. The Government has pointed out that we can repeat that performance with an export-led recovery.

A trickle-down effect ranging from 12 to 18 months, according to economists, can be seen from the point of improved export figures to the creation of jobs. It looks almost certain that from this year on, there will be a gradual decrease in unemployment figures. As Senator Carty has pointed out, there was a decrease of 30,000 people on the live register between August and December, with an unfortunate blip in December.

I hope momentum will pick up again in January.

One figure constantly bandied about is that 450,000 people are unemployed. I understand the number unemployed is closer to 288,000. The gap between the two figures is accounted for by a large number of people who are involved in a variety of Government initiatives, working part-time or receiving payments or subsidies of one type or another. Notwithstanding this, it is not acceptable that we have unemployment. This is the issue with which the Government's motion is concerned.