Deirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I commend the Labour Party on moving this motion. I certainly will not be supporting the amendment proposed by the Tánaiste. I particularly object to the claim that the Government is bringing forward the 2009 budget by six weeks to address the effects of the dramatic downturn in the global economy. I understand the budget is being brought forward so we can discuss the deterioration in the Irish economy, which is solely due to mismanagement by the Taoiseach and former Minister for Finance.

The ESRI's quarterly review, which was published today, refers to the global crisis. However, the mess in which we find ourselves is not purely due to that global crisis but also of our own making. We recently heard the announcement, shocking for anybody in a precarious position or who feels his or her job may not be secure, that by the end of 2009 there will be 300,000 unemployed. The ESRI stated today that it had to revise its projections for the economy downwards. Nobody knows where the statistics will go. The figure of 300,000 unemployed is shocking. There will be human stories behind these numbers, although not of the same type we had in the 1980s, because many of those who are unemployed today find themselves living in an economy in which the cost of living, rent and mortgage repayments are high. Some will probably find themselves in negative equity, which is a serious worry for them.

Many of those who find themselves unemployed are younger people, especially those who have been in the construction sector. In recent weeks, as mentioned by Deputy English, representatives of FÁS have appeared at the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment. They have recognised that there are many young people who left school prior to their leaving certificate or with a bare leaving certificate, went into the construction industry, made good money and had a good experience but now find themselves with low skills and unable to compete in the workforce. I heard the Minister's speech this evening and also heard representatives of FÁS talking about investing in these people and ensuring they are retrained and their skills are improved, but I see very little of this. Yes, there are opportunities in housing insulation and driving HGVs and we have heard that there are gaps in the health sector, but we need to see these people being trained and their skills improved in order that they can avail of these possibilities.

Many will go abroad. At the committee we spoke with the representatives of FÁS about working to ensure those in apprenticeships complete them. It is very important for these young people that they at least have their certification. There are opportunities in London, where construction is taking place in preparation for the Olympic Games. Young people who have not yet completed their apprenticeships should be matched with opportunities in the United Kingdom and encouraged to complete their apprenticeships and obtain qualifications. These issues were discussed in committee meetings under the chairmanship of Deputy Penrose, yet I see little of this occurring. It would be a positive contribution which would benefit the young people concerned.

The Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, spoke about retraining and raising skill levels and about education for life. However, according to an EU survey conducted in 2005, only 8% of Irish persons between the ages of 25 and 64 years were in receipt of any form of education in the period prior to the survey. This compares to 35% in Sweden, 29% in the United Kingdom and 28% in Denmark and is well below the EU target of 12.5%. Thus, the Minister of State has a long way to go to reach his targets. He also referred to competitiveness, an extremely important issue. We must ensure we return to our previous position because we have slipped badly in our competitiveness rating. The Minister of State said tonight it was in our own hands. That is true, but we have seen the Government ignore this issue and allow our rating to slip year-on-year, according to the annual reports of the National Competitiveness Council, which will affect investment in this country. Those running businesses who are hoping to employ people here will consider this factor. Unless we address the issue of competitiveness and ensure Ireland is a place where one can run a business efficiently and effectively, we will not be able to tackle rising unemployment rates.

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