Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy has raised a great range of questions. First, the officials in my Department work very hard. I would not consider them either mandarins or number crunchers. They work on the statistics and their forecasts throughout this year have been in line with the forecasts of reputable organisations such as the ESRI and the Central Bank. We are where we are. We have gone through a remarkable deterioration this year. The Government has responded with a distinct response at each phase of the deterioration.

Regarding joblessness, in my reply I pointed out that we would continue to invest in education and training to equip the labour force with the necessary skills. We will continue to support the less well off through our welfare and income policies. Of course we can give hope to those who are out of work. The Taoiseach has made it very clear that with his Government colleagues he is preparing a comprehensive programme of economic stabilisation and renewal. That programme will be considered by the Government and submitted to the social partners in order that we can all pull together in the vital task of economic stabilisation and renewal.

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