Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The figures speak for themselves. They show a clear reopening of our economy and significant growth in employment. Indeed, the European Union is predicting our gross domestic product will rise by 5.4% this year, which is the second highest in Europe. Does the Minister agree that Government policies are working? The figures are accurate. In fact, a record 2.5 million people are now in employment and in 2021, notwithstanding the Covid pandemic, we have added 229,000 new jobs.

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