Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

As regards the question on job creation and retention, I did not get an opportunity to reply to Deputy Bruton when he raised that point earlier. If we want to create jobs in this country the first item we must address is to give ourselves credibility in terms of our public finances. Of course the Government will make a stream of decisions on job retention and creation, and has been doing so in recent months. Before Christmas, we saw the prompt action the Taoiseach and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food took when the bacon industry was put in jeopardy. I agree with Deputy Morgan that it is essential to do all in our power to shore up jobs in the real economy in this very difficult period.

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