Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Deputy Bernard J. Durkan referred to an EU-US trade agreement. The state of play in this regard is that the high-level working group has made a positive report to the effect that negotiations should take place on such an agreement. In his State of the Union address President Obama committed to progressing a trade and investment partnership with Europe. This was one of the issues we discussed at the transatlantic meeting with the Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry, in Rome last Wednesday. I expect to discuss the matter again with the Secretary of State when I meet him in the near future.

We have made progress in this regard a priority for the Irish Presidency. It is estimated that if we can conclude the various trade agreements with the United States, Canada, Japan and a number of other trade agreements, there is potential to add about 2% to the GDP of the European Union. It is estimated there is potential for creating about 2 million jobs on this side of the Atlantic, with a corresponding win on the other side of the Atlantic. It is a case of putting together a market with 500 million people on this side of the Atlantic with almost as many on the other side of the Atlantic, which will have huge purchasing power representing over half the GDP of the entire world. However, there will be difficulties in getting that agreement. The negotiation of a trade agreement inevitably must deal with sectoral interests on either side of the Atlantic that will have their points of view on the agreement. None the less, it is a very big prize which would contribute very significantly to economic growth and job creation on both sides of the Atlantic.

I dealt with Deputy Crowe's points about Syria and East Jerusalem in my response to Senator Leyden. I refer to the sense of despair, the downbeat mood and the worry which Deputy Crowe described. I agree that this has been felt and expressed by many people, particularly in times when we have come through a terrible storm in this country. The recession that befell this country has been truly horrific. However, we have to solve it. We cannot just bemoan it or wish it away. We have to face into it and resolve it. Our work in negotiating the bank deal, the promissory note, the reduction in the interest rate, the extension of the maturities, the separation of bank and sovereign debt, dealing with the issue of retrospective debt, is all to do with lifting and easing the debt burden on the Irish taxpayer.

Second, we also need to ensure the promotion of economic policies which will generate employment and promote trade and investment. The stabilising of our finances and the banking situation are critical in order to encourage investment in the country. Happily, we have seen much success in that area over the course of the past year. IDA Ireland has done very well in attracting inward investment. The employment figures published by the Central Statistics Office show the first increase since 2008 in the numbers of people at work. We must not exaggerate those successes but they are indicators that we are on the way to recovery.

While people have been bearing a very great burden and have been feeling the pressure of that burden, there is also hope, in particular, for young people. We said that one of the priorities for the Irish Presidency of the European Union would be to address the issue of youth unemployment. So many young people right across Europe have no work and cannot get the jobs that match their qualifications. The provision in the European Union budget for the funding for the youth guarantee is one of the initiatives. This must be a priority in order to engender a sense of hope that we will come through the crisis and the recession and that there is life after the recession.