Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

This is the issue with which we are dealing on an ongoing and daily basis and the only way in which we can create more jobs is to make our economy more competitive. We have had this discussion on a number of occasions. Jobs will not be created in a vacuum and will not be created on the basis of letting our public finances go out of control. They certainly will not be created by the contention that we should not try to repair the banking system, which is fundamental. The real issue and the contention being made by the Deputy is that no efforts are being made by Government. It is very much the contrary. All actions of Government are about making sure that growth comes back to the economy and in the second half of this year it has been confidently predicted that it will. Indeed, from the last quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year some finance houses have suggested that growth is returning.

The road back to recovery will be difficult and hard. We know that and we want to get back on that road as quickly as possible. The difficult decisions that we are taking have to be taken and are absolutely necessary. Despite the disappointing figures this morning, I draw the Deputy's attention to the household survey which is the measure of employment in the country. It is not correct to say that 450,000 are unemployed in the country. There are 287,000 who are drawing unemployment benefit for five days. There are 63,000 people who are working part-time and 23,000 people who are claiming credits. Of the people who are applying for unemployment benefit whose applications are currently being processed, 20,000 are on supplementary welfare allowance. These figures are for the purpose of putting the facts in place.

I do not suggest for one moment that there is any degree of satisfaction or complacency about these figures but we will only turn this around on the basis of doing the job of work which the Government is engaged in, reducing our costs, getting exports going, as we are doing, and making sure that people can sell goods and services in the marketplace in order to maintain the jobs we have, take on part-time people in due course and then turn those jobs into permanent jobs. That is the way back for this economy and it is the only way back. We have to put our public finances in order in doing that.

If we did not do that we would not be able to fund the deficit we have or maintain the services which, we have seen, are under pressure this morning. We would not be able to continue as a country to work our way through this over the next number of years and get this country back to work. Everything that we do is about trying to make sure that we get growth back into this economy. It is coming in the second half of this year. We have to hope that there will not be further turbulence in the markets. There is no room for complacency here, week in and week out. We are doing everything.

In regard to the activation measures, it is simply not fair to suggest that we are doing nothing about it or are indifferent to it. We have doubled the number of training places to 157,000 compared to 60,000 in 2008. On the point made by the Deputy about post leaving certificate courses offered in the adjoining institution to the employment exchange in his constituency, looking at the national figure in 2010 almost 40,000 learners will participate in full-time further education and a range of schemes or programmes with an estimated 125,000 learners participating in part-time programmes. One of the reasons there is a rise in the June 2010 figure is that those in receipt of the back to education allowance, which is suspended until September as it accords with the school year and which has been doubled this year, are obviously coming back onto the register and are in receipt of unemployment benefit until the back to education allowance returns. That is a measure of the activity in that scheme and not inactivity.

Everything that can be done to promote activation and find opportunities for people to up-skill and train is being done. Increased resources are being applied. At the end of the day, unless we continue along the road we are on to secure our children's future and do as we are doing it in the necessary way, we will put all of that at risk and we do not intend to do that.

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