Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

Is it in charge of the overall strategy? I got a wandering reply which stated various Ministers are doing different things. Is the sub-committee overseeing the jobs strategy that the Minister, Deputy Bruton, has been briefing people about? The fact it has only met five times in 12 months does not inspire confidence about the most fundamental issue facing the country, namely jobs. That probably speaks volumes about the lack of a coherent response to date on the jobs question.

In regard to the question on infrastructure, the review on capital expenditure from the Minister, Deputy Howlin, last December praised the infrastructural investment of the last decade and said infrastructure is core to the Government's plan. He was generous enough to pay tribute to the work that was undertaken during the last decade. Can the Taoiseach tell us if the terms of reference of the sub-committee include reviewing the level of capital spending? Will it be able to review new figures which show that the budget reduced capital spending at the lowest level in Europe?

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