Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

A capital plan to be published by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, next week will increase investment in road, rail, broadband, housing, other essential infrastructure, such as schools and primary care centres, and job creation, both in terms of indigenous industry through Enterprise Ireland and foreign direct investment through IDA Ireland, and will create many thousands of new jobs to underpin future growth. A new, improved and enhanced apprenticeship system will drive opportunities for young people alongside places for people who wish to go to college. A budget will be published next month which will raise living standards for a second year in a row, helping low and middle income workers, families, retired people and the vulnerable. We have provided for free general practitioner care for children aged under six years and people aged over 70 years, new schools across the country and a record €3.8 billion social housing programme over the next few years. We have also introduced marriage equality and new gender recognition laws.

After harrowing and extremely difficult times for many people and businesses, including the loss of 330,000 jobs when the crisis caused by the bank guarantee unfolded, Ireland has made great progress in recent years. As a country, we now stand at a moment of great potential and we need to seize this potential for all the people in this country to provide a real recovery dividend that is felt across society not only in business, education and the community, but also in areas such as culture.

Most of the time, I see on the Opposition benches only parties and politicians who either ran this country down or talked it down.

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