Deirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I am speaking in support of the motion moved by Fine Gael. It is a very real motion based on fact and the situation in which this country finds itself in terms of financial deterioration and certainly deterioration in the unemployment figures. There is an unemployment rate of 5.2%, which is the highest it has been in seven years. Those of us who were looking for work in the 1980s would think a rate of 5.2% is a reasonable figure but we are dealing with a situation where the unemployment rate is at its highest growth rate in the past 25 years.

People who lose their jobs are not just statistics. We are citing a considerable amount of statistics here today, myself included. However, we should recognise that they are real people who find themselves without a job and, in many cases, are not sure what the future holds. Perhaps they have a low level of skills or are in an age bracket which the market does not appear to demand.

In many ways, we are victims of our dependence on construction. The cost of manufacturing in this country is very high and many who have gone through our education system have poor skills attainment. We are told that the unemployment rate will increase this year. The ESRI predicted that it will reach 6.2%. The Department of Finance has predicted that in a few months time, the number of people who will be unemployed in this country will be more than 200,000. The jobs that are being lost, which are listed in the motion, are certainly not being replaced to the same extent. I noticed that the Government's amendment mentioned 11 job announcements. This adds up to 1,150 jobs. A total of 1,100 jobs were promised in the Cork region through Amgen. I know it has been mentioned here by Deputy Kathleen Lynch. The jobs in Amgen never arrived. That puts job creation versus job losses into context.

Headlines in yesterday's newspapers showed that redundancies were up by 21% in the first three months of this year. The construction and manufacturing and services sectors have borne the brunt of these losses. A total of 699 jobs in the services sector were lost in March, which brings the number of redundancies in this area up to 2,320. The situation is worse in manufacturing and is similar in construction. Jobs have been lost there, bringing the numbers up to over 2,000 for the first three months of this year.

We also know that the manufacturing sector is continuing to contract. There has been a reduction in orders and an increase in costs. We hear that Ireland is becoming an expensive country in which to operate. These costs can be directly affected by Government action but have not been affected.

I heard the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance speaking on the Order of Business this morning and he mentioned the phrases "deteriorating financial situation globally" and the "high price of oil". He spoke as if the matter is outside his control, he can do nothing about it and outside influences are coming to bear here. That is not true. For the past number of years, we have been over dependent on a construction industry that is now in a downturn. The Government was happy to sit back and let the money roll in from capital gains tax and VAT returns. It was an easy number. All the Government had to do was sit there and preside over it yet we now see the downturn in the construction industry and the direct effect it is having on tax revenues. Yesterday, we saw another poor headline which showed that tax revenues were down €600 million in the three months since the budget. They are down almost €700 million on this time last year due to a drop in capitals gains tax and VAT returns.

I would speak for the next 30 minutes if I could. I am not saying it is all doom and gloom. I just wanted to make the strong point that the country has been mismanaged. We have been over dependent on the construction industry. Transport 21 is behind schedule. We need to invest in infrastructure to ensure that our competitiveness can be regained and that we do not slip further in this area. We also need to encourage and develop competition in our energy sector, an area for which the Government is, again, directly responsible. I could go on and talk about waste, environmental and water charges. I know that these charges are necessary. However, they are not controlled and are an excessive cost on business. I am sure the Minister of State knows that in his capacity. These are factors that could be controlled by the Government but have been neglected. We are now paying the price for that neglect.

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