Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

It used to be Labour Party policy to use public investment to create jobs, either directly in public services or elsewhere, but now it seems to go along with the ideology of doling out vast sums of money to small and medium enterprises and multinationals to try to get them to create jobs. TASC economist, Paul Sweeney, described the level of corporate welfare in Ireland as a very considerable level of direct and indirect State intervention constituting our industrial policy. It is very disappointing this is the direction in which the Minister of State has gone. The €64 billion bank bailout was already a handout to businesses on behalf of the taxpayer, but now we see a host of State agencies giving support to SMEs. A total of 80 Government business supports amounting to more than €2 billion are also available to SMEs. This policy is misdirected. The only way we will create jobs is by investing, for example in housing and house building which the Minister of State has not even mentioned in the course of his contribution, and in creating the social needs we have in society through job creation.

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