Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

In his reply to me earlier, the Taoiseach sought to put a gloss on the live register figures by representing them as though they were an improvement. I have the new figures released just a few minutes ago. The seasonally adjusted figure for the numbers on the live register for November 2009 stands at 423,400. That is the highest November figure ever. It is 236,000 more than were on the live register at the time of the general election. There is no basis for the Taoiseach putting a gloss on these figures or trying to suggest to the House that somehow they represent some kind of an improvement. It is a disgraceful and scandalously high level of unemployment. This large increase has taken place on the Taoiseach's watch.

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