Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)

The jobs crisis is one of the biggest issues, if not the biggest issue, facing the State. Some 440,000 people are unemployed and the unemployment rate has remained static since the Government came to power. In addition, long-term unemployment has increased by 14.5% to a shocking 200,000 people. Recent research found that the unemployment rates for 15 to 19 years olds and 20 to 24 year olds currently stand at 45% and 33%, respectively. These are staggering figures which indicate we have a lost generation.

At the same time, 76,000 people emigrated last year. This amounts to 1,346 people per week, of whom the majority are young people. Last year, in excess of 1,600 companies became insolvent, as did thousands of sole traders. Behind these statistics lie individuals who invested their heart, soul and savings in their businesses and a large number of workers, many of whom have been left with only a future of unemployment.

As one of a large number of new Deputies, I find it immensely frustrating to witness the lack of action on jobs. Behind the mountain of spin and press releases on job creation, there is damningly little substance. It has become apparent in the past year that some Ministers have little or no experience or knowledge of enterprise and job creation. This is a dangerous position for the State to be in at this juncture.

I had hoped the announcement of the Action Plan for Jobs 2012 would be a turning point which would demonstrate that job creation was the main priority of the Government and Taoiseach. However, as the announcement was made, it became despairingly clear that this all singing and all dancing document was mainly a rehash of existing announcements and polices. While the document contains a number of small and potentially beneficial initiatives, it is short on substance. At its launch, an apparently confused Taoiseach stated it would create 100,000 new jobs. However, when asked in the House to set out the targets in detail he blustered that it would be easier to count the seagulls over Phoenix Park, a bizarre answer to an important question. When RTE put the same question to the Minister of State with responsibility for training and skills he indicated the Government would create 300,000 or maybe 400,000 jobs gross. One cannot have two targets. What we saw on television was a Minister flounder as he tried to answer a question on a jobs plan which, at its core, is flawed. The responses of the Taoiseach and Minister of State were extremely telling as they indicated that the entire plan is a substance-free press statement and that we have a soundbite scripted Taoiseach who is free of pivotal detail.

In business one has the term: "One cannot manage if one does not measure against targets." How will the Government know if its plans are working on a quarterly or annual basis? How will it know what changes to make and what economic levers to pull to address problems? The absence of quarterly or even annual job creation targets shows the Government is not attempting to manage or measure. The only target we have is a statement from the Department of Finance that unemployment will remain at 14% this year. This figure is based on an excessively optimistic growth figure of 1.6%. When will Ministers receive a briefing from the Department that the projected growth rate of 1.6% is pie in the sky?

On a point of order, I ask the Ministers present to listen to my contribution. In announcing the Action Plan on Jobs the Minister was at pains to point out that it would be delivered within existing budgets and without additional finance. The budget for Enterprise Ireland has been reduced by 14.3% since 2009, while the budget for city and county enterprise boards has been reduced by 30% in the same period and the budget for the IDA has been reduced by €10 million since last year.

The amalgamation of a number of some of the enterprise bodies is a cause for concern. As Deputy McGuinness noted, the decision to merge county enterprise boards with local authorities is a potentially dangerous development. Most small businesses regard local authorities as entities to which they pay rates and charges. While most local authorities do a good job, their staff are generally not orientated towards enterprise or jobs. We have also heard that an administration function will transfer to Enterprise Ireland. I would like to tease out how this will be done. What impact will Enterprise Ireland have on the county enterprise boards and what will be its new function in respect of local authorities?

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