Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is the Aontú agenda. That is your agenda, Deputy Tóibín. I hear it again and again. As the veil slips, it is also characterised by typical misinformation from the Deputy. I heard the Minister, Deputy Chambers, on "Morning Ireland" this morning. I heard him outline a number of different things, including the reality that we have to yet consider what the United States may do, and, in doing so, it is essential we make the case for trade that is mutually beneficial and that creates jobs and investment in America. The Minister also outlined the work the Government is doing, that he is central to, in understanding what the economic impact of the environment we are moving into could be, which he and I will jointly conclude with the stability programme update, the economic forecast that will be presented to the Government and the Oireachtas in a few weeks' time.

He also made the point. that I will repeat here today, that we are doing that in an environment in which there have never been more people at work in Ireland than there are today. There are 2.8 million people at work. I did not hear the Deputy refer to the unemployment figures that came out earlier in the week which indicated that the unemployment rate is nearly at its lowest ever in the history of Ireland or the fact that we have gone by a position of full employment. We are also in a position that we are running budget surpluses, the very budget surpluses the Deputy has always said, like his former colleagues in Sinn Féin, we should be spending day after day.

The Deputy concluded amidst his diatribe with one question to me regarding what kind of engagement I am having. I am engaging directly with the OECD, which is the key organisation from a tax perspective in this regard. I met its representatives last week regarding this. I have met them on two occasions in recent weeks. This Government, most notably through the engagement we will have with President Trump next week, will look at all ways and at all layers in which we can engage in what is indeed a great challenge to our country.

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