Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

Only one week ago, it was announced in regard to the legislative programme that tackling the jobs crisis is the Government's top priority and that it will shortly publish finance legislation to stimulate job creation. If we are to reflect the Ireland of 2011, as the Taoiseach stated, why are we not having an emergency debate on today's shocking announcement that 2,000 workers are to be made redundant in Allied Irish Bank? These are not the spivs and speculators who caused this crisis; they are ordinary workers. When will the Government come forward with emergency finance legislation with regard to jobs? Only two weeks after it was announced that €24 billion of taxpayers' money would go into the banks, their response was to push the numbers unemployed closer to 500,000.

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