Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have listened carefully to what the Deputy has said. I did not hear her mention that the unemployment rate has decreased from 15.2% to less than 8%; that thousands of jobs have been created in recent years; that the Government is proposing to provide 200,000 new jobs throughout the country between now and 2020, with 135,000 of them outside Dublin; and that the best route out of poverty is getting a job and having an opportunity for a career. Her view seems to be that a conveyor belt of borrowed money can pay everybody and we can continue as we did before. I assure her that we are not heading down that road again.

Every single household was affected when the country went over the edge. Over 100,000 people lost their jobs, thousands of people emigrated and the construction sector collapsed. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform is trying to keep us moving forward in line with the decisions and sacrifices made by all workers over five or six years to rectify the country. He is managing things well and is not going to lose control over what we have. All the public sector workers referred to by Deputy Smith, or the vast majority of them, accepted sacrifices because of the economic situation we were in. Under the Lansdowne Road agreement, 280,000 public servants agreed on a process for beginning to deal with the financial emergency restrictions. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has outlined that position on many occasions.

While I note the decision of the private sector unions, I would make the point that as a country, we have to keep our costs down and make it easier for people to have jobs and get into employment. That is why we need to continue to focus on dealing with the Low Pay Commission in respect of the minimum wage and, where possible, on reducing the income tax paid by those who are paying 50% tax. We cannot do that unless we have an engine. We are all inundated with requests for hospitals, primary care centres, schools, housing projects and expanded infrastructure throughout the country. We do not have the resources to do all of these things. The only way we can hope to give all our people an opportunity is to have a well-managed economy. That requires choices to be made. Deputy Smith has said we are taking a very tough line on workers. I respect the work they do. We want to be fair to everybody in the decisions the Government will make. Deputy Smith does not seem to see that.

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