Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

It is regrettable we only have ten minutes left, because we could have done with an extra two days, at least. The Minister's colleague, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, continually mentions a high knowledge economy, as do the Minister for Finance and the Taoiseach. We have an opportunity with amendment No. 30 to do this and to facilitate people getting back into education, or in some cases to attend third level for the first time.

The amazing thing about the amendment is that it is cost neutral as the Exchequer would be making the payment in any event, whether jobseekers allowance or benefit. Therefore, I hope the Minister can explain the difficulty in terms of bringing the qualifying time back to the three-month period. Now that the number of unemployed people is increasing — currently 275,000 plus and I heard Fr. Seán Healy say this morning the number could reach 400,000 by late next year — surely they would be better off if they were gainfully employed in education rather than seeking employment that, in the majority of cases, will not be available.

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