Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I found this debate very worthwhile. It has been quite constructive and we have had a good exchange of ideas but the issue is where we go from here in terms of progressing these ideas. The attendance of the chief procurement officer and some of my officials who are present at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation this coming Tuesday is an important step forward in getting the views of all the parties and Independent Members on where next to go.

I want to respond to some of the Members' points. The key priority of Government, and I presume of every Member present, is to get people back to work. That issue that been raised a number of times throughout the debate. The Government has already launched the Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work strategies which detail our plan to try to achieve this commitment. Since the launch of those strategies we have seen employment growth and the rate of unemployment is now 11.1%. It is still far too high but it is the lowest it has been in five years. Therefore, ongoing work is needed in terms of how we get more people off the live register and back to work and how we pick up on the points Deputy Crowe and others have made on apprenticeships and providing people with the skills they need. We recognise the need to do more.

The State spends a significant amount of money each year on procurement, as alluded to by many speakers. It is approximately €8.5 billion per annum on goods and services, which works out at approximately €23 million a day. I will refrain from using percentages.

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