Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

Our young people were leaving in search of jobs in numbers not seen since the 1950s. The facts of history also show that in 1987, faced by an economic wasteland of incompetence and mismanagement, the present Taoiseach, then Minister for Labour, crafted the first social partnership agreement. This first agreement became the template on which stability and prosperity was built and continues to be a crucial aspect of economic and social policy.

The Government has consistently shown that it has the vision and the resolve to keep our country competitive and sustain the conditions that give us low taxes, low unemployment, low inflation and low interest rates, which are the lowest ever.

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