Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)

It was refreshing to listen to Deputy Stephen Donnelly, an Opposition Member, speak in the Chamber having listened to the other contributions made in recent days and to hear an Opposition spokesperson taking his role as responsibly as he is. I found his contribution refreshing and enlightening. It shows that he is taking the stance that for him it is not opposition for opposition's sake and he has not joined the ranks of the ATM soundbites that have graced the halls of this place since the election.

It may have escaped the notice of some people but there is a crisis facing the country with close on 500,000 people who do not have the quality of life such that they can get up in the morning and go to work. It may have escaped the notice of some people in the Chamber that this measure is simply a start. All the criticism that we received focuses on the promises we made during the general election. Promises and commitments were made during the general election but they were for a Government and this Government plans on staying in office for five years. This is day 63 of the Government's tenure so I applaud the Minister for Finance and his Government colleagues for this initiative.

I welcome the comments of the Minister for Social Protection. The internship programme will be essential in getting us out of this because there are two critical areas for the future of the economy: the indigenous tourism and agriculture sectors. Emphasis has been placed on tourism but it is appropriate the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is here with the Minister for Social Protection. There is scope for those who are not the sons or daughters of family farmers to engage in internship programmes on farms and to bring back farm apprenticeship schemes. The European Union and the rest of the world will need food and Ireland is very good at providing a welcome to tourists and is exceptionally good at producing high quality food. That must be looked at.

Deputy Donohoe referred to the air travel tax. It is now up to the two airlines, Ryanair and Aer Lingus, to put their money where their mouths are. They were vocal in insisting that the air travel tax be abolished. It is now gone. I am interested in the routes out of Shannon Airport that were closed because they offer the potential for massive numbers of people to come to the mid-western region and we have a great deal to offer people in the Limerick-Clare-Tipperary region. I hope the airlines that have previously closed lines there will now reopen them.

The Minister for Finance mentioned labour activation measures and the Minister for Social Protection has agreed with him, pointing out that it is difficult to get a job without experience and difficult to get experience without a job. This is hugely welcome. I have seen people my age coming out of university to wander around aimlessly before eventually leaving the country. Anything that can be done in Ireland to encourage graduates to stay at home must be a good thing.

I ask the Minister to consider the whole area of apprenticeships. Apprentices are being left in limbo at present, where they are nearly but not quite qualified. In some cases, even if they have a job to go to, they cannot start it because they cannot get their papers. If there is anything the Minister can do to support small indigenous business to bring back those apprentices so they can finish and enter the labour market, I would fully support her.

The self-employed and small businesses are competing with people who are being subsidised by the Department of Social Protection while they operate in the black economy. I have raised this issue with the Minister before but we must clamp down on this, we cannot afford to send out the signal that it is acceptable for a person not to pay a fair share while expecting a neighbour to subsidise him.

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