Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

Community employment schemes and work experience projects play a very valuable role. The local authorities are one group of people who have offered to take people but in these circumstances one always needs the full co-operation of the trade unions. We must ensure that taking in young people does not involve job displacement because jobs must be protected. There is plenty of scope and I believe the unions have a major role to play in ensuring that young people can get the opportunities.

Deputy Burton spoke about the smart economy. Additional money has been invested in research this year. Research and innovation are major priorities. A single line of funding has been created to ensure that there is co-operation and collaboration between the academic institutions and industry. It was never the intention that people in research would end up taking tenured posts in third level. The aim is to get them into industry, develop patents and to register them and then to start generating income, further employment and offshoot companies. Another provision in the budget is to ensure that start-up companies continue to get additional capital allowances and tax allowances and to have those extended. There are significant provisions in this budget to support the creation of employment, additional training and additional education. This section of this Bill contains an incentive to young people to take those opportunities-----

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