Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I know the Opposition does not like to acknowledge it but unemployment has decreased from 15.5% to 6.8%. Perhaps that is a statistic that should be focused on. It makes a difference to people's lives if they have an opportunity to be in a job and supporting their family. Most people want the opportunity to work. Tens of thousands of people have gone back to work, so the Deputies might occasionally acknowledge that this makes a difference to the quality of people's lives and household incomes. The evidence is that income inequality has been reducing in this country and we are becoming a more equal society, albeit with much work still to do.

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