Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 and 21 together.

It is always a privilege to be here as regularly as I am to answer the important questions Deputies put to me and to respond to the Dáil. I want to highlight where we are from a jobs point of view in Ireland. It is a really positive development in our economy overall. Total employment in the last year alone went up by 90,000 people, with the total number of people at work in our country now exceeding 2.8 million. The unemployment rate now stands at 4%, while the number of women at work is at a record high. The number of young people at work within our economy is at a very high level as well. I am sure the Deputy will remember - I certainly do - other times when persistently high levels of unemployment in Ireland were an issue that government after government really struggled to make progress on. It was the subject of much debate, research and analysis, why unemployment was so high in Ireland and why we could not get it down, with all the social misery that was then caused by that. While I know there is still much that we need to improve on in our country, to see so many people at work is so important. Behind every one of those 2.8 million people is the dignity of being work, the reward you get from it and then the obvious contribution to your own living standards.

As to where we are and what that means for the global environment we are in, that is the main challenge the Government faces economically. Regrettably, the background that helped Ireland create that level of employment for those who live in our country was a consensus as regards the rules of global trade and global taxation, a belief that if we integrate with one another through trade, that can deliver mutually beneficial gains for economies by getting more people at work. The House will be well aware that that is now being contested and that President Trump is taking a very different view with regard to trade.

What we are now trying to do is, first, through the European Union, negotiate with the United States to see if we can get a different outcome and an agreement on this and, second, within our own economy, look at the measures we can take that will sustain these high levels of employment. I point to the work the Minister, Deputy Chambers, is now doing. He will be in here shortly after me to discuss the review of the national development plan. I point to the work the Minister, Deputy Burke, is doing on the competitiveness of our economy. That is hugely important. I recognise the work he is putting in, particularly in support of smaller businesses. Then there is the work the Minister, Deputy Lawless, is doing on higher and further education and how we can have the right level of skills within our economy and look to develop and to change that as technology begins to change our economies overall.

This high level of employment is a really precious gain in our economy overall. We have to look at the contribution that all agencies of our State can make to contribute to it. I see our colleague here, the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, who will talk about the Office of Public Works. That is an example of a State agency that plays a really important role in skill development within our economy and then direct employment. We need to look at all of this now when the global environment is beginning to change so much.

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