Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I do not wish to labour this point too much but the more the Minister says the less convincing it is. This is slightly worrying. There are regular engagements with the troika and the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council during which we have sight of fascinating tables regarding GNP, competitiveness, investment levels and so on. What probably matters most to our citizens and to people in business is jobs. Leaving aside all of the statistical indicators and so on, the bottom line is returning more people to employment. Everything else flows from that. We appear to be doing things the wrong way round. We are not suggesting that everything should be turned upside down; we are just asking that what is sought in the amendment be included. I do not see how an objective for creating employment is in a different category legally or any other way from the other purposes set out in the Bill, including the economic development of the State. How is that objective legally different from or more important than employment in terms of the objectives set out in the legislation? This does not make any sense.

These issues we are discussing and the legal advice which leads the Minister to reject these amendments further supports the claim that we should have had more time on Committee Stage to thrash out this legislation. I would like to hear a serious explanation of the legal advice that has led to the Minister saying we cannot include the creation of employment as one of the objectives of the strategic bank. This does not make any sense. I believe the Minister should reconsider this and, perhaps, interrogate his legal advisers a little more about it.

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