Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)

Everybody is acutely aware of unemployment. However, is it worthwhile for Members on this side of the House to make suggestions? We have been encouraged to make suggestions. They are constructive. There is no gain for us other than to try and get people off the live register. Is consideration being given to a redrawing of the national development plan to prioritise labour intensive projects? For example, €600 million could be front-loaded to the schools building programme, thus providing jobs for many of the workers who have been made redundant in the construction sector.

What is the Department doing to incentivise job creation? My party has suggested a two-year PRSI holiday for employers who recruit persons who have been unemployed for four to six months or more. Every job lost costs the Exchequer €20,000 in terms of welfare benefits and tax forgone, without taking account of the statutory redundancy due to any person who has been in his or her employment for more than two years. It makes good economic sense to front-load the national development plan with labour intensive projects that would provide employment for construction workers, engineers, architects and others who are losing their jobs on a daily basis. This is only one initiative in terms of incentivising job creation. Fine Gael, Sinn Féin and others have also put forward proposals to ensure people are taken off the dole and allowed to make a productive contribution to the economy.

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