Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

I have heard what the Opposition Deputies have said. The Bill is urgently needed. Its purpose is to give effect to the jobs initiative which is a job creation programme of €500 million. We already had an extensive debate in the House on the jobs initiative. The tourism industry in particular is awaiting VAT changes in order to promote growth and job creation. The policy content of the jobs initiative has been extensively debated in this House. Jobs are a priority for this Administration and we make no apology to anybody for that. We want to introduce the legal and financial measures necessary to make this effective.

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