Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is a need for good news stories. When the Government assumed office in 2011, some 7,000 jobs were being lost each month. The position has been reversed and 5,000 jobs are being created every month. That is a net turnaround of 12,000. A great deal of work has been done, not just by the Government but by people throughout the country, to achieve this reversal. It must be acknowledged that the private sector is creating most of the jobs in question. All we can do is try to assist those in the private sector and make it easier for them to create employment. It is often stated that some of the measures in Action Plan for Jobs are very simple in nature. That is the case but we need to get back to basics. For too long people in this country thought they were making money by selling houses to each other and by developing land. Neither of these activities is enterprise-driven and, as a result, there was a need to return to basics. There have already been two action plans for jobs and there is one more on the way. Each of the plans to date has contained a couple of hundred measures, some of which have proven to be very important and have cost a great deal of money. Those measures have been responsible for driving major change. Many of the other measures or actions have been quite basic in nature but if they are not implemented and if all the boxes are not ticked, business development will be hindered. Everything in the action plans must be put in place to ensure our economy returns to a point where it is enterprise-led and is capable of facilitating the creation of further jobs.

Activity in areas such as retail, construction and domestic banking must be returned to sustainable levels. Youth unemployment was referred to, in respect of which some progress has been made during the past year. That said, it is not acceptable that such high numbers of young people are either not in work or are not engaged with the system. When the budget was being introduced, there were many who criticised the cuts to jobseeker's benefit and allowance, etc. There were reasons for such cuts and not all of them related to the need to make cost savings. A case can be made to the effect that many young people do not engage with the system at all. In other words, they are not in employment or involved in education or training. That cannot be allowed to continue and if it is necessary to adopt a carrot-and-stick approach to remedy matters, then so be it. Most young people to whom one speaks indicate they want to be involved. The majority are trying to get involved but there are others who, for whatever reason, are not engaged with the system at all. There is a duty on us all to remedy this and to ensure they become engaged. I accept it will not be possible to give them all jobs immediately, but we must keep them close to the world of employment, namely, in training or education. If we do that, such people will be in a position to avail of job opportunities as they arise and will not be left behind.

The Pathways to Work document goes hand in hand with Action Plan for Jobs and both are driven by the Government. Forfás has also played a major role in driving these plans forward, especially Action Plan for Jobs. I thank Mr. Shanahan for the work his organisation has done in this regard. I have no doubt that said work will continue when Forfás becomes part of the Department.

While the Government is making positive strides in respect of job creation, it must never lose sight of those who, despite their best efforts, remain out of work. The most recent figures available, from quarter three of 2013, indicate that 280,000 people remain unemployed.

I am confident that all these people will benefit in 2014 as the Government's efforts are met with a recovering economy, an increase in consumer sentiment and the development of private sector employment opportunities. The Taoiseach and the Ministers are focused on the need to create jobs.

This Bill will help in the creation of an environment favourable to job creation. Like a previous speaker, I wish to speak for my own county. County Meath is in bad need of jobs as much as anywhere else. We must ensure that job creation is dispersed as best as possible. The first step is to attract companies into the country but it is important that every county gets a chance for job creation.

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