Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The last part of the question probably has the makings of a proper study for the troika as it arrives in Dublin because it addresses that balance between maintaining employment and the flow of money in the economy that will help to boost consumer confidence and get consumers spending again.

On the services of the Department, we have approximately 85,000 engaged and participating in various options offered by the Department, most notably, 25,000 plus who are involved in going back to education. In the long run, when one is in a recession like we are, one of the best options is to educate people as well as possible. Finland and Sweden had bank crashes - it must be said, not as bad as ours but nonetheless - in the 1980s and 1990s and found investing in education most important, and my Department is doing that.

The second aspect involves expanding all of the different opportunities we have mentioned. We have also issued a prior information notice, PIN, which is, essentially, to invite expressions of interest from organisations around the country, whether in the community, voluntary, public or private sectors, which may be interested in helping in the job and, ultimately, tendering for some of the work to help to get people back to work. As I told the Deputy previously, we also have been studying what has been happening in other countries, such as the United Kingdom, but particularly Sweden and Finland which had their own bank crashes and deep recessions, to learn from those who brought themselves back from a difficult position to a prosperous position currently.

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