Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Obviously, there is considerable work underway in the Department and the Minister is trying to re-engineer much of its work, which is welcome. He and I may disagree on the outcomes but we all want to get to the same destination. Although the growth in employment is encouraging, I would maintain it is a growth in temporary employment. We still have an issue of long-term unemployment, in particular youth unemployment. The youth guarantee is very important but I am concerned at the manner in which this Department does not appear to be driving it as much as it is being driven in the Department of Social Protection. The drive in enterprise and job creation needs to be part of the youth guarantee. That is very important.

I reiterate my concern, one I have often expressed and which I believe the Minister shares, about the fact we still seem to have a silo operation. I am still unconvinced that the jobs action plan has broken down the silos between different Departments in terms of job creation and the way every Department has a role to play in job creation, not only this one. I refer to expenditure on public projects. The committee has heard various groups that have attended, small contractors, even people selling school books and supplies. They are being priced out of the market by the policies of one Department while this Department is trying to encourage small business. The same goes for big Government contracts for building, where people are being priced out.

I am sceptical about the jobs action plan but one of the concentrations found in it concerned what needs to be done internally, within Government, to support business, in particular small businesses and job creation. I still believe there is a silo mentality which goes: "That's not our job; that's not our role, that's the other Department's role". We need to break down those silos in order to create employment and we need to make job creation the work of every Department, not just that of this Minister and his Department. Every Department needs to realise that every cent it spends should play some role in creating or maintaining employment. I believe that attitude is still not there in many Departments.