Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

The Taoiseach should not seek to minimise the impact of the job loss situation by relying on percentages. It is no comfort to people in Bausch & Lomb to feel that when they lose their jobs they represent a lower percentage of unemployment now than they would have in the 1980s. We have never had in excess of 350,000 unemployed. It is the highest number of people out of work in the State ever. It is 200,000 extra people out of work since the date of the last general election. Having 200,000 extra people out of work costs €4 billion to the public finances. That is the Government's problem. The problem in the public finances is directly related to the number of people losing their jobs and continuing to lose their jobs.

We cannot have information being provided to us on a piecemeal basis at this time. We have the level of unemployment today that we now know. We have the figures that were supplied to the Opposition finance spokespersons this morning, which as Deputy Kenny said suggest that approximately €5 billion now needs to be found. There are two additional pieces of information that I would like to get from the Taoiseach this morning. First, what is the Government's projection for the number of people who will be out of work by the end of the year? We need to see this on a total year basis. What is the Taoiseach's projection for that and what is the additional cost to the public purse of the additional people who will be out of work?

Second, for the first time, the Taoiseach this morning described what the Government will now do as the introduction of a supplementary budget. Will he tell us the date on which that supplementary budget will be introduced?

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