Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is a shame that the vast bulk of the discussion today has focused not on what we are trying to invest in in terms of the job creation measures and the stimulus. That is the nub of the issue, and it is a success story that we are not selling off assets just to shift the debt but to reinvest in the economy.

The Minister referred to traditional investments. They seem to be quite construction heavy. I heard that at the height of the boom approximately 18% of the economy was based around the construction industry. It has collapsed to around 3%. The figure for the average economy is 7%. Will the Minister expand on the investments that will be made? How would he respond to the suggestion that they are construction heavy and that perhaps they should go into other areas? He mentioned Ireland being a potential wind energy exporter.