Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

-----would have a positive effect as individuals and companies will have the confidence to increase their spending or decide to expand their enterprises.

The reality is that the forthcoming budget can most effectively contribute to economic recovery by way of support for the export-orientated enterprise sector. Ireland can only regain its ground lost through harnessing the skills base and intellectual capital of our people and target it at creating innovative solutions and products that the world will want to buy. By selling abroad, we create jobs and income at home. That export income will then trickle down through the local economy, sustaining new jobs in the local traded services that we can choose to avail of every day.

Our overseas markets are slowly starting to recover. International organisations such as the IMF and the OECD have upgraded their global economic growth forecasts in recent months. We have already seen signs of that in Germany, France and Japan, for example.

Significant challenges remain, however. Although our economic prospects are improving, we still face negative growth this year and at least for part of 2010. Despite recent encouraging trends, high rates of unemployment are expected in the medium term. The rise in unemployment and the increasing financial pressures has placed a heavy toll on individuals and households. Many of those still in employment have had to take pay cuts and there are still uncertainties to be faced before our economy recovers.

We will continue to limit the rate of unemployment through targeted activation measures, creating a higher skilled and better educated workforce that will drive Ireland forward in the next decade. How many minutes do I have remaining, a Cheann Comhairle? Is it only three?

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