Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity of supporting the proposal put forward by the Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, which supports the Government's action to bring sustainable economic growth and job creation capacity to the economy as soon as possible.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the fact that the live register figures for September 2010, which were published a few hours ago, show the biggest single drop ever in the live register in any one month. I know there are pluses and minuses in those figures. However, there are 24,506 fewer people on the unemployment live register today than at the end of last month.

In January and February of last year, which I would call two black months, unemployment increased by 30,000 in each. The figures stabilised to a significant extent in the intervening 18 months but it is good to see a tangible and real reduction at this stage. This is very welcome and very important. Of the 442,000 on the live register, 293,000 are in receipt of payment for a full week and 62,000 are in receipt of payment for part of a week. It is important to acknowledge the existence of these part-time workers, lest it be assumed that 442,000 people are unemployed for a full week. This is not the case.

I am most concerned that approximately 150,000 of those on the live register are in the 25 to 34 age group. They are new young working families and are in a very difficult situation. We must make assisting them a priority.

A number of activation programmes have been put in place and 9,000 people are currently on back-to-work payments, primarily through the back-to-work allowance scheme. An additional 20,000 people are on community employment schemes and a further 5,000 recently commenced vocational training opportunity schemes, VTOS, which are run by the various VECs throughout the country. The latter schemes are much appreciated by those who obtain places on them.

The Government has put in place some concrete initiatives in recent times to assist with the creation and protection of employment. First, it changed the rules with regard to public procurement and in respect of those who tender for public contracts. These changes will make it easier for small and medium-sized businesses to tender for contracts. Many such businesses were previously excluded from tendering as a result of turnover requirements. The Government has gone further by trying to break some large contracts into smaller, more manageable contracts to which not as much foreign competition will be attracted. We will be able to give to Irish businesses these contracts which relate to products and services that are required and that will be paid for by the taxpayer through Government procurement sources.

I will highlight one figure I wish to see reversed. The initiative I have outlined will assist in that regard. Approximately 99% of all government contracts across the EU are taken up by companies in the countries where such are put out to tender. In Ireland, the figure is 18%. Essentially, and relative to the position in other EU countries, we opened the door far too wide and allowed too many foreign contractors to take up contracts here. We should move towards the EU average and design contracts in such a way as to ensure that companies here that tender for the business will be successful. We have begun this long-overdue process, which, I am sure, will be of assistance.

The Government spends approximately €4 billion on unemployment payments. Such payments should be matched with trying to retain people in employment. The employment subsidy scheme, which is excellent, is one example in this regard. I would like the funding available under this scheme to be quadrupled. We must take the necessary steps to redesign the scheme to facilitate subsidised employment and to ensure that Brussels will not object to what we are doing. I guarantee Members that the French, the Italians and the English would be able to do that which I have outlined. We have been overly politically correct in too many instances. All one need do is travel to other countries to see how they operate within EU rules to benefit themselves first and foremost. We must be selfish when it comes to matters of this nature.

In the area of construction, I would like to see the introduction of tax relief for home improvements that would be subjected to a limit. A relief of 20% could be given to people who add extensions worth perhaps €50,000 or €100,000 to their homes provided they could produce receipts showing that the work was carried out by a registered tax-compliant contractor. This would bring people back into the legitimate economy. In a recession, quite a number of people tend to move into the black and grey economies. Such a relief scheme would make matters much easier for legitimate contractors and would encourage people to spend some money, particularly if they knew that they would receive some of their tax back. Due to the fact that it would generate activity, a scheme of this nature would be self-financing.

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