Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is very serious for Ireland to have an elected representative with such a cynical view of job creators. Running a business is not a nine-to-five job. If one is running a business one is working 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It would be a good idea for people to learn what it is like to be an employer. As Ms Callan stated with passion, we have a 9% unemployment rate. That is the most disturbing issue in the country. There are at least 100,000 people who are long-term unemployed.

Having started a business with Connie Doody, I know that the effect of unemployment on people - in terms of their lack of confidence and self-esteem and the fact that they are not meeting people every day - is devastating. The country is going nowhere if we are bitter and cynical about our job creators. We are not talking about the multinationals that have a pot full of money. They are very capital-intensive, and it is much easier for a company to make a profit when it is capital-intensive. That should be studied as well.

I supported the minimum wage when it was introduced. I am still supportive of it in spirit, but compared to when it was introduced I still believe our economy is in a dire state. One only has to walk the streets around here to see the shops closing down. That is happening in the suburbs as well. It is a fairly sad state.

I detest cynicism. There is a failure to understand that employers and employees are a team. They work together, and there is mutual trust and good faith.