Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Of the 14 sectors which provide data for the quarterly household survey, a total of nine recorded quarter-on-quarter declines in seasonally adjusted terms, four showed increases and one showed no change. It shows a particularly big hit for under 35 year olds and for the lowest age cohort.

The Minister referred to retail. Fully 5,000 jobs were lost in retail in the first quarter. I got a sense during the election campaign - it was one of the lessons and was evident in the feedback - that despite all the talk of economic recovery, it is not being felt. The notion of more self-employed people has far more to do with a quirk in and a consequence of social welfare legislation than people actually setting up their own business. People are classifying themselves as self-employed to try to get benefits because the system is forcing them to do so. That is where the growth is coming from.

When we speak to people away from the spin, action plans and task forces we can see that people are suffering the consequences of unemployment and they do not see these jobs or any job creation. The quarterly household survey is the broadest measure and shows that the reality is also relevant to that survey.

Did the survey act as a wake-up call to the Department, the Minister and his colleagues in government? I realise it came on a day when people were distracted with other news and in that context I wish the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, every success in his quest for a new job.

I remind the Minister that we asked about Bausch and Lomb as well.

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