Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the change to speak on the Finance (No. 2) Bill. First, however, I wish to express my sympathies to the family of the late Deputy Michael Bell to Deputy Nash and his Labour Party colleagues. Deputy Micheál Martin will take part in the tributes at a later stage. On a happier note, I extend good wishes to my fellow county man, Senator Paddy Burke, on his election as Cathaoirleach of the Upper House and wish him well.

I welcome the context surrounding the introduction of this Bill. Despite the pleasant distractions of the Government over the past week, we are now back to reality. Unemployment is one of the major issues facing us. It directly affects people on a day to day basis in a manner that micro-economic issues do not. This Bill should be the start of a debate in these Houses on a focus on unemployment and how we tackle it. The committees will be established next week and each committee will have a role to play in doing this, regardless of whether it has a direct input into an economic brief. Each committee should be tasked upon establishment to identify areas within its brief that could create employment. By doing so, the Oireachtas will show to those 440,000 people who are unemployed that we understand their situation and that we are taking it seriously. The situation is dealt with on a daily basis in our clinics and we must, while dealing with each personal situation, deal with it at a macro level as well.

The introduction of the jobs initiative and the accompanying Bill we are discussing today send a positive signal that we are taking these issues seriously and I welcome them. I acknowledge Deputy O'Mahony's remarks on the practical difficulties on the implementation of the placements and related issues. The Government, while in Opposition, spoke of the need to create a one-stop shop for benefits and everyone in the House would support such a measure. There is equally a need for a one-stop shop for employers who are seeking to access some of the places announced in the jobs initiative or over the course of the last few years. It is ridiculous but common that three different employment agencies must be consulted. When we include the local employment service and various other wings of Government that must be involved in the creation of a place, it would put many employers off engaging. I ask the Minister to look at the creation of a simple system to access these places. Otherwise, we will be here again this time next year to discuss places that were not taken up or where funding was allocated for them but because of red tape they are still lying empty.

While welcoming some aspects, I cannot ignore the difficulties we have with the Bill. For me personally, many of those relate to the expectations that were created in advance of the launch of the employment initiative. Before the election there were claims about the NewERA document and all that went with it by both parties. The programme for Government contained more claims and promises about this issue. The pension levy, however, has become the main focus of debate around the jobs initiative and that is unfortunate.

The common response from the chorus-line opposite is that Fianna Fáil is responsible for this, that Fianna Fáil got us here and the Government's hands are tied. That will get the Government through the next few months, undoubtedly, because that is the political climate, but it will run out of road with it because it was elected on the basis of promises made on employment creation, expenditure and taxation that it will have to deliver upon. While it can throw that comment back at us, it cannot use it with the expert bodies.

Deputy Nash criticised Eddie Hobbs and I agree; there are many in the commentariat who have made stars of themselves in recent years. I see Deputy Mathews in the House and I give him credit for at least having the guts to put his name on a ballot paper and to come into this House to take responsibility for what he said before the election, unlike so many of those who appeared on panels with him, who did not have time to get ready for the election, but continue to lecture those of us who had the balls to put ourselves in front of the people and stand by the decisions we are taking.

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