Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

He will get more time at the ard-fheis.

The Central Statistics Office reports the population has breached the 4 million mark, standing at 4.13 million people. However, there is much comment as to the true population level. Once upon a time, in his previous portfolio, the Minister got into difficulty with sums over medical cards and the numbers of people over 70 years of age. It turned out to be a much different figure than was originally estimated. We are not exactly sure of the true level of migration into the country or population growth, as it varies from one particular study to the other.

Following the Famine of the 1840s, and the almost relentless flight of people from the land, we can look to inward migration as a sign that Ireland has finally come of age. Hard and painful economic reforms, arising from the bad old days of the 1980s were needed. Much progress has been made in the economy by successive governments in ensuring economic growth, development and employment opportunities for our people. We are richer, more confident, outward looking and self-assured.

However, a series of key challenges remain that we are simply not facing. We have enough reports at this stage to implement, particularly the enterprise strategy group's report, Ahead of the Curve. I was critical that another layer of business people was needed to implement recommendations already made through the existing——

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