Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for his answer. Unfortunately, Ministers and taoisigh often say they will use increases in excise. In his opening statement, the Minister spoke about progress on unemployment rates, which is obviously welcome. The fewer people who are unemployed, the better. However, the summer economic statement shows the Government is planning to leave unemployment at 5.5% from 2019 onwards. Based on employment numbers, that could be up to 120,000 people. The Minister also commented that he considered 5.5% to be almost full employment. Is that what he is saying there? It is acceptable to leave 120,000 people without a job from 2019 onwards.