Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister referred to the issue of unemployment in his opening remarks. The forecast for this year is still approximately 14% and the Minister envisages it reducing to 13.3% next year. As the Minister said, these are not targets but forecasts. I accept that point. However, when the Minister is considering the use of any spare capacity I urge him to focus on employment creation and jobs, because of the additional benefits that brings with reducing the social welfare bill and improving disposable income. That is a key objective.