Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

When I tabled this question I was not aware that the Government would take the decision it took on Tuesday on the amount it would spend and the projects on which it would be spent in the coming years. There is a clear indication in the announcement last week that €750 million is being cut from the capital budget for next year. It is not necessarily my job to remind the Minister of the commitments his party and the Labour Party made about their willingness and desire to put in place appropriate and necessary measures to ensure unemployment levels would be addressed through the creation of employment. One of the most obvious ways to do that is through State spending and the capacity to employ people through an effective capital programme. Given the significant cuts the Department will have to make in its capital programme, how does the Minister intend to assist in the recovery of the State through the creation of jobs?

The Minister attempted to create employment in the tourism sector earlier this year through the jobs initiative, but that has not materialised. It was a gamble at that stage. A recent paper published by the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, clearly indicates that while a stimulus project or plan should generate extra employment and ultimately pay for itself, this has not and will not. Where do we go from here in terms of job creation and finding a solution to the current crisis?

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