Mary White (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)

I am delighted to speak on this Private Members' motion. We on this side of the House have made difficult decisions in the budgets to try to stabilise the economy and the public finances. There have been difficult decisions made regarding the reform of the regulatory authorities for the banks. I am glad to welcome the appointment of Professor Patrick Honohan, which the Green Party was very keen to see happen. He will be a good man in the position. The next number of weeks and months will be a defining moment in how we look at our economy regarding how the banks perform.

Employment, as all parties in the House have said, is central to the revival of our economy. That is why it is important that we have a sufficient number of training places and support for people returning to education. Let us hear the figures clearly. Some 330,000 places have been provided for job training. We are often accused of not doing enough for job training, but that is the figure. Let us put it on the record. The Opposition's claim that there is no job strategy is a lame one because there is a strategy and it is working.

Another aspect of the economic revival is the green and digital economy-----

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