Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

The degree to which the Government cut the capital programme this year over and above what had been factored in has led to the loss of 8,000 jobs in the domestic economy which could have been protected this year if not for that excessive cut in the capital programme.

The jobs initiative was more electoral manipulation - it was an election gimmick. The problem was it was not a gimmick for the pensioners out there who have had their pensions raided. For what? It was for nothing in terms of job creation because very little of that money was spent on job creation in the past 12 months, and we have those figures from the Minister for Finance. There has been too much on the optics-----

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