Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will not go through the full list of measures we have introduced on an almost bimonthly basis since 1 January. Most recently, we reduced the rate of VAT for the hospitality sector to increase employment. The main task we have is getting people back to work. The best way of dealing with poverty in a household is to have an earned income in the house. That is better than the alternative. That measure was intended to get people back working in the hospitality industry, in our pubs, restaurants and hotels. There are now 2.5 million people in the workforce. The policies we are introducing are paying off. That is the highest number of people ever in the workforce.

In the coming weeks, the Government will publish the summer economic statement, which will set out the budgetary framework within which we will consider the measures to be introduced next October. The budgetary strategy will be aimed at restoring the public finances to a stable trajectory in the uncertain times ahead. We are going to see that in the coming weeks and it will set the framework for where the Government goes. It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the fact that interest rates are rising and the taxpayer has a high level of national debt. We must be conscious of the extra cost of that debt on the Irish public.

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