Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I want to stay on the issue of Brexit and focus exclusively on jobs. For most people reading the estimate published by the Government yesterday, the most stark and shocking figure in it was that between 50,000 and 55,000 jobs would be lost in the event that there was a hard Brexit. It would be catastrophic for us. One of the key lessons we learned from the economic collapse was that it is much easier to preserve jobs than to try to replace them. The Taoiseach will remember the phrase Mario Draghi used which gave those of us in government at the time great heart, namely, that he would do whatever it took to preserve the euro currency. My question is about the preservation of jobs. Will the Government do whatever it takes to preserve jobs in the event that there is a hard Brexit? Specifically, what level of funds has been identified for schemes to support businesses and workers through whatever difficulties will arise in the coming months and years? Has the Government had preliminary talks with the trade union movement on altering work practices to preserve jobs, as happened in Germany during the crisis? Now that the prospect of a hard Brexit is looming as a reality, what level of resources, in cash terms, will the Government deploy to ensure the 55,000 jobs will not be lost?

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