Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

"recognises:

the increase in the number of people signing on the live register; and

that the Government has taken early action to address the deterioration in economic and fiscal prospects by introducing the 2009 budget early;

supports the Government in:

stabilising the financial services sector so that Irish enterprises, small, medium and large, have improved access to funds, thereby protecting jobs and Irish economic growth;

its management of the economy and employment market to date in challenging global circumstances, which means that Ireland meets the current challenges from a strong position with over 640,000 jobs having been created over the last eleven years and over 2.1 million in employment;

the measures it is putting in place to ensure that those who become unemployed are assisted with employment services and training programmes to help them return to employment;

the retraining of those previously employed in the construction sector;

the additional resources being provided from the National Training Fund for training those who become unemployed, including the measures being taken to help apprentices to complete their training despite the current conditions in the construction sector;

the strong successes that have been achieved in attracting foreign direct investment to Ireland;

the substantial support given to community employment projects, which give people employment experience and assist in their return to the open labour market;

the continued training and upskilling of the workforce in line with the National Skills Strategy by various agencies including FÁS and Skillnets;

the work of the county and city enterprise boards who have a clearly defined role as the principal deliverers of State support to the micro-enterprise sector in Ireland and who deliver targeted valuable assistance, both financial and non-financial, to business start-ups with good growth and employment potential;

and acknowledges that:

the Comptroller and Auditor General has acceded to the Tánaiste's request to review certain activities in FÁS;

the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has begun a review of labour market programmes with a focus on their efficiency and effectiveness;

the FÁS One Step Up Programme and the Skillnets Training Networks Programme include a particular focus on being responsive to the needs of small and medium sized enterprises;

the Management Development Council is currently reviewing the appropriateness of available training for owner/managers in the SME sector; and

the conditions for the back to education allowance have been amended to provide immediate access to the scheme for people who are awarded statutory redundancy and have established an entitlement to a social welfare payment and notes the increased participation in this scheme."

I wish to share my time with the Minister of State, Deputy McGuinness, and Deputy Dooley.

See this speech in context