Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Many Deputies will remember the last time an Irish Government delivered a significant economic statement in the month of April. It was back in 2009 when Fianna Fáil rushed through an emergency budget in a bid to plug the ever widening gap in the public finances.

It did not work, of course, and the decisions that followed that emergency budget plunged the country into deep crisis. Hundreds of thousands of jobs were lost and tens of thousands of young people emigrated. The future seemed bleak and incredibly uncertain. Our collective confidence had been delivered a severe blow.

Now, in April 2015, there is reason to be optimistic again. Yesterday, the Minister, Deputy Noonan, charted a plan for the remainder of this decade. It is a plan that will continue to deliver new jobs and better living standards. It is a plan that is based on sound economic policies and responsible financial management. It is a plan that will help bring the thousands of young people who left these shores during the crisis back home, where they can contribute to and benefit from the recovery. It is a plan that will deliver better public services for everyone. It is a plan that will ensure that every county in the country feels the benefits of the economic recovery.

Opposition Members like to talk down the recovery. First they said there were not enough jobs. Now they say they are not the right jobs. What is the truth? Some 90,000 new jobs have been created since unemployment hit its peak and the vast majority of new jobs being created are full-time jobs. Unlike the Opposition, the Government believes in the future of this country. We want to give families and young people the best possible chance to succeed. The Opposition scoffed when we set a target of 100,000 new jobs by 2016. As we will exceed that target, we have set a more ambitious one. We want to recover all of the jobs lost during the crash by 2018.

When my constituents ask me what the spring statement means for them, I will tell them it is a new way of managing our public finances. It is about learning from the lessons of the past. It is about never going back to the policies of boom and bust. It is about continuing on a sustainable path so everyone feels the benefit, and so we can continue to ease the burden on hard working families and give our young people a reason to come back home.

The spring economic statement is a clear commitment that the sacrifices made by the people in recent years will not be squandered. We will not return to the reckless, spend-happy policies of old. Short-term populism is no longer the order of the day. This means building a recovery where all sectors of the economy are growing and where all regions of the country can benefit.

I am glad to inform the previous speaker that I have seen the fruits of the recovery in my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan. Earlier this year Combilift, an indigenous Monaghan company, announced 200 new jobs through a major expansion of its facility in Monaghan town. A few years ago such job announcements were unheard of in Monaghan. Through an unrelenting focus on excellence and entrepreneurship, Combilift has grown into a major local success story. It has been assisted on that journey by Enterprise Ireland, which has helped Combilift to expand its export markets. The company now sells its products in 75 countries. There are other examples of job creation in Counties Monaghan and Cavan.

My Department endured severe cuts during the economic crisis. The arts and heritage sectors suffered considerably during the downturn. The cutbacks have come to an end, and I have begun the gradual process of increasing funding to the arts and heritage sectors. The Gaeltacht is also benefiting from the recovery, with additional funding channelled through Údarás na Gaeltachta this year.

I want to see the arts and heritage sectors benefit as the economy recovers. I strongly believe that these sectors can play a very important role in contributing to our recovery. Our arts and culture make our villages, towns and cities vibrant and interesting places. Our culture is synonymous with our Irishness. It draws people in their millions to visit this country and it is something we must always promote and protect.

Our creative economy is a fantastic asset. The Government has already significantly improved the tax breaks for film production here and I will be working with the Minister, Deputy Noonan, in the coming months to see if further improvements can be made. We also have a thriving animation sector, which is supported by my Department through the Irish Film Board. Small Irish studios like Cartoon Saloon are having a huge impact on the international stage, producing animation series that are considered to be among the best in the world.

I believe our creative industries will form a very important part of our changed economic landscape. By showing that we want to invest in our creativity and foster artistic endeavour, we send a strong message that Ireland is an interesting and innovative place to be. By recognising that creativity is good for business we can take a much more holistic approach to how we invest and how we attract investment.

Ireland 2016 is of course my main priority for the year ahead. I have been very enthused at the response to our plans to commemorate the 1916 Rising. This morning I visited Pearse House in Dublin 2, where Padraig and Willie Pearse were born and raised. My Department is providing a small grant to help renovate the building and open it up to the public. It is a small example of how the commemorations can help to revitalise communities and stimulate activity.

The central focus of Ireland 2016 has always been on commemoration and on respectfully remembering. It will certainly have a positive spin-off for our towns and cities. This was evident in Dublin on Easter Monday when thousands of people flocked into the city centre for the Road to the Rising event. Business activity on the day increased by between 20% and 30%. The seven flagship projects being supported by my Department, including the new visitor centres at the GPO and Kilmainham Gaol, will also provide a great boost and are expected to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.

The challenge for the years ahead is to continue to manage our economy in a responsible way, to ensure our recovery is sustainable. It is incredible to listen to the Members of the Opposition decry the notion that we would start the debate on next year's budget now. These same Opposition Members claim they want a more open budgetary process.

Fianna Fáil wants the people to forget the disastrous policies they presided over in government, while Sinn Féin wants the people to forget that they are implementing cutbacks north of the Border that they oppose in the South. The Technical Group represent "whatever you're having yourself" and are all things to all people. I do not believe the Irish people will fall for it. Most Irish people would choose stability over chaos and moving forward over moving back.

As our economic recovery is not guaranteed, I do not want to see the progress made over the past four years thrown away. That is why charting a path for sustainable recovery is so important. Spending increases and tax cuts will only be made based on solid economic decisions. We must continue to manage the economy sensibly to ensure growth not only continues, but spreads. Over the coming months, we will engage in a national economic dialogue to have an open debate on how taxpayers' money should be spent. We will invite written submissions in advance of the budget, all of which will be published. It is a different approach and a better approach.

We will reclaim that lost decade. We will put the darkest days of the crisis behind us. We will move forward as one of the best countries in the world in which to live, raise a family and grow old.

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