Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

-----pretending it has a great initiative.

What new ideas, proposals and funding, if any, will the Taoiseach be bringing news of to the economic recovery and jobs sub-committee after his attendance at the summit? He mentioned job creation, small enterprise support etc., were important items on the agenda. What is the outcome? What are the targets? Does the State have specific targets with regard to job creation?

We hope every one of the 800 workers employed over the next two years in a new enterprise will have solid, well-paid jobs with decent conditions. We have to remember that TalkTalk, which walked not long ago, got rid of 575 workers. As I said, every job is valuable. The problem with capital intensive multinational investment directed towards exports is that it yields very few jobs. Does the Taoiseach not see a contradiction in regard to the domestic economy, which is the critical area where jobs will be created and saved? There is a fundamental contradiction between the Taoiseach talking up jobs here and the fact that 0.5% growth has been predicted for next year. Can the Taoiseach tell us what prospects came from the EU summit?

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