Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I thank the Minister for his reply. What is his opinion on the EU Commission forecast that the fiscal deficit will reach 15.6% of GDP in 2010? Does the Minister accept this comes as a result of depressed demand and soaring job losses?

What I find difficult to understand from the triumvirate in charge of the country, namely, the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Finance, is that none of them seems to have any imagination concerning what unemployment figures of 380,000 - possibly heading for 500,000 - will do to Irish society. The Minister mentioned some measures he included in his budget but even judging by the record of FÁS these amount, at most, to about 90,000 places on various initiatives. Does the Minister expect to have any serious offer for people who are losing their jobs, particularly young well-qualified graduates?

See this speech in context