Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is a good and healthy exercise that there be criticism when that is the view of somebody on a body such as this. That can be healthy in the sense of saying we may have to adjust, change or move along to make it better. My interest here is that whatever we do should be in the interest of creating jobs and job opportunities because that is where the future lies.

Pre-budget submissions are made to different Ministers before they set their ceilings with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. Budgetary submissions are a matter for the Department of Finance. I understand that the Department has received three submissions in regard to budget 2014 from the four IFSC strategy working groups and they refer to propositions for the development of the financial services sector. They are all being considered in the context of the budget. The Department has received 330 pre-budget submissions and, therefore, in that sense, there is nothing unusual about that be they from public or private sources, communities, agencies or organisations. I get lots of correspondence from people who are qualified to make a point and some of them attempt to draft suitable amendments to existing Bills, whatever their proposition might be. At the end of the day, the Government has a responsibility to act collectively in the interests of putting together the fairest and most equitable budget we can, given all the circumstances that apply.

The Deputy asked what is different. The number on the live register in September 2013 was 408,670, which is 26,000 lower than in August 2013, 20,600 lower than September 2012 and 28,000 lower than September 2011.

It also means that when one analyses it, the standardised unemployment rate for September 2013 is 13.3%, which is down from 15.5%. It does not solve our problem by any means but it is heading in the right direction. Given all the circumstances that apply, this is a very different proposition from where we were just a number of years ago. I hope we can build on that. The submissions received from the IFSC working groups - all three of them - together with the 327 other submissions that have come into the Department of Finance have to be examined. They seek to make changes or adjustments in tax or are looking for finance from one source or another. All of the options have to be put together in the context of the revenue stream and tax position as identified by the Minister for Finance, the growth projection figures for 2014 and the situation with regard to ceilings being set for each individual Department. All of that is a complex mix. I do not know what the three submissions received referred to but I am sure they are in the context of adjustment for job creation and growth in the IFSC. The financial services sector continues to remain an important part of the ongoing work of developing the economy.

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