John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)

For 435,000 people, 86,000 of them under 25, the only thing they think of night, noon and morning is the possibility of getting a job or recovering from the trauma of having lost a job. They are not worried about who is going to be the next Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the next Minister of State with responsibility for food or the next Irish Commissioner - they want a job. People want to work. They do not want social welfare. Young teachers, architects, engineers and solicitors are desperate to work. They do not need to go back to education because they already have their qualifications. There is also another group who left school early during the Celtic tiger years and who now have neither a job nor an education.

What is needed in response to this is a plan to provide jobs that will give people and their families a sense of hope for the future. They want solutions. Fine Gael, with this motion, proposes some of those solutions. It is a plan. It may not be the be all and end all, but it is a plan. It provides hope for young people, upskilling for those who need it and expanded community employment schemes, to mention but a few areas.

I warmly welcome the initiative by Dr. Martin McAleese, called "Your Country, Your Call", to encourage people to come up with ideas to create employment and to provide incentives in the process. The only approach of the Government to date has been the line that the economy must be fixed first and the jobs will follow. We heard the exact words from the Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh, when he said earlier that the jobs will follow "a bit later". "A bit later" is no good for the 500,000 people who are unemployed.

The stimulus approach has been provided by many countries, it is working in many countries and we need it here. I urge the immediate reinstatement of the sports capital funding, which would have a positive effect in every town, village and parish in the country. In one fell swoop, it would create employment, get extra taxes into Government coffers, provide extra recreational facilities for young people and, in doing so, get rid of many of the ills of modern society. I commend the motion to the House.

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