Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I know it is "Super Tuesday" but we have matters we must attend to in our own country. I am genuinely concerned at the leaking confidence evident now in the Irish economy. January saw the largest monthly increase in jobless figures since such records began, up 7,800 or 4.4% since December. That was the biggest monthly rise in percentage terms since 1980 and the largest increase in numerical terms ever.

Most commentators believe this comes from the slowdown in the economy, particularly the construction industry area. There were 6,400 males among the over 7,800 registered in that increase. FÁS has predicted that we can expect up to 30,000 job losses this year, a staggering amount, and it has also reported a 50% fall in the number of apprenticeships in what were known as the wet trade. This includes plumbing, painting, bricklaying and one well known to the Taoiseach, plastering.

There is anecdotal evidence about firms leaving off apprentices before they have completed training, a matter of genuine concern and hurt. Job losses are not a funny matter, nor are they limited to the house building sector. There were more redundancies notified in January from the non-construction sector of manufacturing than for construction, which speaks for itself.

As a result, almost 8,000 young people under 25 are registered on the live register. What is the Government's plan to deal with this issue? The Taoiseach and his anointed one recently stated that if we followed the macroeconomic plans of Government, all would be fine, everything is rosy in the garden and we will weather this storm. The Taoiseach does not appreciate the level of concern out there; people's lives do not lie and they can smell the change on the streets. What is the Government's plan to provide job opportunities and careers for young people in Ireland in the future?

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