Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

-----are straining at the leash to resume the headlines they last used in the late 1980s about "spongers" and "malingerers" on the dole. It is coming close to the surface. They did not dare to use such headlines over the past three years because it was clear who are the culprits and who are the victims. Perhaps they think such headlines can be used again now. Does the Tánaiste want the Labour Party to be responsible for that as a consequence of its focus on so-called labour activation measures, which really involve blaming and harassing the unemployed rather than creating real jobs? At the end of March, the Government will pay €3 billion in respect of Anglo Irish Bank promissory notes. I suggest that money should be invested in emergency programmes that encourage job creation and improve infrastructure. One such programme could involve the remediation of septic tanks in rural areas. That would bring thousands of people into work. Such an approach is the cure for unemployment.

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