Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

It was not possible to put the structures in place to make NewERA a reality at this early stage because much of it, as Deputy Michael McGrath and Deputy Timmy Dooley know, involves restructuring, for example, the delivery system for water across the country, the way in which we carry electricity across the country and the way in which we roll out broadband. Despite this, elements of NewERA are already beginning, for example, in regard to broadband for rural Ireland. The McCarthy report deals with a whole series of recommendations, some of which are consistent with the NewERA policy. We will see this being rolled out over time.

This is not all the Government has to offer on job creation, far from it. It is what it was possible to introduce at this early stage in a jobs initiative that is affordable and cost neutral, whereby we have committed to raising funds so we can reallocate those funds to create stimulus and jobs. That is all it is. No one in the Government has been hyping up the jobs initiative. We have been saying for weeks-----

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