Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I am sure Deputy John Halligan from Waterford is aware of the work of Mr. Bevan from across the water in Wales. Credit should be given where it is due, to the British Labour Party and to Mr. Bevan.

To respond to Deputy Halligan's comments, unemployment is the most important issue we face. Since becoming Minister, I have reinstated the minimum wage because it is vital that people avail of employment opportunities that become available. Last year, 140,000 people left the live register to take up work. Unemployment is also the reason I am reforming my Department and adopting a new approach that is much more active and provides for training needs.

Years ago, I used to work in Waterford for months at a time. I know how devastating the unemployment crisis has been in that city, with the loss of TalkTalk, the Waterford Crystal factory and other firms. We must focus our efforts on employment. For this reason, I established the national internship scheme, which has so far attracted 8,500 participants, of whom 5,000 are currently taking part in the scheme. A further 4,500 people are taking part in the Tús scheme. These schemes are alternatives for people in a tight and difficult jobs market. I am working with my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, to address our inability to fill certain high-level jobs. We need to redouble our efforts in the area of training to ensure local people on the live register have opportunities to fill vacancies in sectors such as high-level information technology, medical devices and pharmaceuticals.

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