Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The Government, since June, has provided an employment subsidy scheme to help those export-oriented industries in the SME sector that need our assistance and support, and that is being been taken up in broad measure. There is a commitment given by Government over the two fiscal years to meet that commitment up to the tune of €250 million. That is a significant commitment in terms of that aspect of employment support, while at the same time everyone must understand that unless the economy is competitive, the prospect of maintaining existing jobs — let alone creating new jobs — is put at risk without that adjustment that must be made.

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