Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister might consider it next year. There might be something very useful in offering someone the chance before he or she becomes long-term unemployed. As I said, this morning's CSO figures are optimistic. Some 58,000 net new jobs were created in the 12 months up to the end of September. Some 4,000 of these jobs are in construction and 15,000 in the hospitality industry. In targeting the construction industry in the budget the Minister was targeting the area most in need of assistance. I would be prepared to examine other measures, but I hope we will get some traction out of these measures.