Dáil debates

Tuesday, 7 October 2008

7:00 pm

Photo of Willie PenroseWillie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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I move:

"That Dáil Éireann:

notes with particular concern, the huge growth in unemployment reflected in:

the regular announcement of job losses, particularly in the manufacturing industry;

the increase of almost 80,000 over the past 12 months in the actual and seasonally adjusted numbers on the live register;

the doubling of numbers signing on at some social welfare offices since the general election; and

the warning from FÁS that up to 65,400 construction workers may lose their jobs by the end of 2009;

expresses its serious concern at the social and economic impact of any return to structural long term unemployment for large numbers of people;

deplores the failure of the Government to take any new initiatives to protect existing jobs or promote the provision of new employment or facilitate retraining or educational opportunities for those who have lost their jobs; and

calls on the Government to launch a major programme to counter the huge increase in unemployment that would have as its key elements:

a major school building programme to take up to 40,000 children out of prefabs and to provide alternative employment for those who have lost their jobs as a result of the downturn in construction;

a national insulation scheme to provide energy efficient homes and contribute to the lowering of carbon emissions that would also provide alternative employment for building workers;

a substantial programme of investment in skills and retraining, including a greater role for the institutes of technology in this area and an increase in the number of places available under the vocational training opportunities scheme (currently capped at 5,000) and the use of vacant places in universities and colleges;

a strengthening of the role of the county enterprise boards and, in particular, the removal of the limitation on the type of enterprises the boards can support and raising the limit on the number of jobs they can create above the current figure of ten, as well as a significant increase in Measure 1 funding to allow the boards to achieve their full potential;

a reduction in the lead-in time for eligibility for the back to education allowance;

an improvement in access of community employment and jobs initiative schemes; and

access to a local employment service for every unemployed person."

I wish to share time with Deputies Joan Burton and Arthur Morgan.

My Labour Party colleagues and I note with concern the considerable growth in unemployment. Our motion sets out the current situation, encompassing the hardship that confronts so many of our constituents, their families and individuals across the country. We advocate a number of new and novel solutions and ask the Government to take note of them because we put them forward in a constructive way. I emphasise that. They should be pursued vigorously to address the problems outlined in the motion.

Judging from its amendment, this Government has learned nothing. It offers no new initiative but purveys old solutions dressed up and labelled in new bottles. That is no way to address our current economic problems which present us with unemployment figures of over 240,000. Colleagues will note that this number would fill Croke Park three times over on All-Ireland day, at full capacity. That is the dimension of the problem that confronts us.

The apathy and complacency of the Government have undermined and embellished every proposal we have brought to the House. This reinforces the public sense that there is a deeply embedded apathy and possibly an inability at the core of Government concerning how to confront these issues. Government has had it so good for so long that its members do not know they are complacent and apathetic. It is time that this Government addressed the problem in a strong and vigorous way, bringing forward new and innovative ideas. Today my party leader asked the Taoiseach about this issue and received the usual bland reply. The Taoiseach says he is bringing forward a budget six weeks early but that is no way to address a problem. It is merely window dressing.

As we discuss this motion, the world economy is entering the greatest crisis it has faced since the Great Depression. For several years perceptive economists who are independent of business, as is my accountant colleague, Deputy Joan Burton, have predicted the current crisis and have suggested ways of mitigating its effects. They have been ignored by Governments, including our own, who prefer to listen to economists employed as cheerleaders by banks. Those ones tried to persuade us the boom would last forever.

Like other small open economies Ireland is particularly vulnerable to the vagaries of the world economy. However, some decisions taken by the present Government and its predecessors, now entering a 12th year in power, have increased rather than reduced our vulnerability. It was clear the export-led boom generated by inward investment was coming to an end by 2002 and that from then on we were becoming more and more dependent on construction. There is an old saying that people do not grow rich by taking in one another's washing. It is also true that building and selling houses to one another is not a sustainable basis for economic growth. That is as true as the nose on one's face.

It was also clear by the late 1990s that the construction industry no longer needed the plethora of incentives put in place to encourage activity in the 1980s. Instead of getting rid of these schemes, however, more were added. As Minister for Finance, the Taoiseach finally got around to scrapping these schemes last year, just as construction was beginning to decline. We now have a glut of often poorly constructed houses and apartments in areas not served with public transport and without services, sometimes even without footpaths. At the same time there are 40,000 people on local authority waiting lists. We saw the cancellation of vital urban renewal schemes such as St. Michael's Mansions and O'Devanney Gardens. Private developers withdrew from the public private partnerships which the Government believed to be the solution to all public expenditure problems. My colleagues, Deputies Michael D. Higgins and Joan Burton, have been to the forefront in exposing this myth.

As one of the most open economies in the world, Ireland's prosperity depends on producing and selling goods and services for export at competitive prices. While we have continued to attract inward investment over the past five years in high-tech industries we have lost thousands of jobs in lower skilled manufacturing and many of the workers who lost those jobs are being consigned to long-term unemployment. Our major concern is that this country will revert to having institutionalised or structural unemployment, thereby aping what happened here in the 1980s. In the first eight months of this year over 23,500 people were made redundant, a 36% increase on the same period in 2007. Many of their jobs were in manufacturing, some of it relatively high-tech.

The Government has tried to gloss over the level of redundancies and boasts of its job creation record but we must examine the kinds of jobs that have been created. We have doubled our workforce over the past 20 years but the Government does not care to admit how many of the jobs created are in low-skilled work. Approximately one tenth of the labour force, 200,000 workers, now earn less than €10 per hour. With bankers and their incomes in the news at the moment we might reflect on the fact that some top bank executives receive €1,500 per hour while 1 million people earn less than €15.50 per hour. That is the dimension of the situation and it is what ordinary people in the streets are asking about now. The majority of those who take up these low-paid jobs have lower secondary education, or less. Deputy Burton has been a strong advocate in this area. It is a shocking failure of our educational training system that at the height of the boom we had to rely on immigrant skilled labour to fill so many jobs when so many of our young people were leaving the school system without educational qualifications or skills.

FÁS has warned that up to 65,400 construction workers may lose their jobs by the end of 2009. I would like to hear some proposals from FÁS on how it will provide these redundant workers with new skills. I am disappointed that FÁS has not been very effective in retraining workers who are made redundant. In some cases, indeed, a FÁS training course does not seem to greatly enhance employment prospects. In addition to auditing the financial controls of that organisation the Government should examine some recent decisions of FÁS which were probably prompted by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. There was, for example, a crazy decision to reduce the pension budget by €10 million this year and by an additional €27 million next year. We must look at these decisions of Government.

There is a jobs club in Carrick-on-Suir in County Tipperary which works as a committee. However, FÁS states that jobs clubs are failing to provide participants for courses when in fact it is the responsibility of FÁS to do this. This is in that organisation's contract, referred to in the agreement. The jobs club in Carrick-on-Suir was proposed for closure in January 2008. How can the Government agree to the closure of a jobs club in an area where local unemployment increased by 30%, from 972 in January 2008 to 1,319 in August 2008? That is an increase of 44% signing on between August 2007 and August 2008. The downward trend in the national economic cycle is hitting Carrick-on-Suir disproportionately, as seen in current figures from the Central Statistics Office. A jobs club is now more essential than ever in order to contain rising unemployment. It gives hope and inspiration to many who have nobody else to turn to and enjoys a high profile in the area. All major building activity in that area has ceased and many young people in the 18-30 age group have had to emigrate to avoid a bleak future.

I ask the Minister of State to intervene with FÁS and ensure this jobs club is not closed. That would be another retrograde step. At the very time when such clubs are needed, FÁS declares they should be closed. I have opposed that. The Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment met representatives from the club and they received all-party support. They had a meeting with the Minister of State at the Department for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Kelleher, and as a result the evil day has been postponed. We will pursue this matter and we want more radical innovative solutions from FÁS. We do not want lame old solutions such as the closure of places that are of immense importance at this point in the economic cycle.

We must adopt a more proactive training programme for redundant workers and for new entrants to the labour force. The cap on the VTOS scheme must be lifted at once and institutes of technology must be given further resources to enable them increase the number of places they provide. Because of declining numbers of school leavers some of the ITs will have spare capacity which could be used for training and retraining workers.

The time which must elapse before an unemployed person is entitled to the back to education allowance should be shortened or eliminated. The Minister states this allowance is awarded if a worker gets statutory redundancy but what about those who do not receive statutory redundancy, who are simply laid off? We should encourage people to return to education and not have any limitation on the scheme. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Coughlan, is not here because she knows well that she was the person who introduced these restrictions on eligibility and the conditions for participation.

She had a part in the savage 16 cuts, of which this was one.

Photo of Michael D HigginsMichael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Hear, hear.

Photo of Willie PenroseWillie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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We now are reaping the whirlwind. The Minister is not present to face the music but has sent in the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Devins, who was not party to that decision. It would surprise me were he party to it.

In Sweden, a worker made redundant is immediately entitled to a training place or further education. Ireland still has a Victorian attitude to the unemployed, whereby they must be made suffer a period of deprivation before being entitled to enhance their employment prospects. It is time to move into the 21st century.

Last week, the Government acted with great alacrity to prop up the banks. It stayed up several nights to do so and Members also were so obliged. My Labour Party colleagues and I do not see a similar sense of urgency in dealing with the rapidly rising level of unemployment. Unless effective action is taken quickly, we may soon have unemployment levels similar to those of the 1980s. In rural areas of my constituency, as well as those of Deputies Sherlock and Kathleen Lynch, most non-agricultural employment is in the construction industry, in which large numbers of jobs are being lost weekly.

One must accept that at least in the short run, construction employment must be sustained. This is the reason the Labour Party has come forward with positive proposals. It is not carping or giving out and the party leader and deputy leader, who is spokesperson for finance, have costed the proposals. One third of the expenditure involved would be recouped through taxation. Moreover, the human benefit that would accrue as a result of Labour's proposals, the uplift that would be provided for the construction industry and the resultant availability of competitive tendering certainly would lead to significant savings for the Exchequer in the long run. On any cost benefit analysis, the Labour Party's proposals are positive. I do not wish to hear any more suggestions from the right wing media that the Labour Party merely carps and is negative. It has brought forward its proposals without the benefit of the mandarins in the Department of Finance or anywhere else. We worked hard on it with our limited resources, tabled it on the floor of this Chamber and published it for the people to consider. That has been acknowledged by some of those journalists and others involved.

The Labour Party proposes that the Government should embark immediately on a school building programme, which is needed in every constituency, every county and every bloody town we go to. The Loreto Convent in Mullingar needs refurbishment work to begin and a new 1,000-pupil community college in Athlone is required, to be rid of a completely inadequate old school that was built in the 1970s. While I can give several further examples, such as Loch an Ghair national school, Sonna national school and Ballynacarrigy national school, I wish to retain a national focus in this regard. The Labour Party wishes to provide proper accommodation for the 40,000 children who are in prefab classrooms at present. Every September witnesses the pitiful spectacle of children, for whom no classroom is available, being accommodated in prefabs, halls or GAA clubs. For real progress to be achieved in school building, it must be taken out of the hands of the Department of Education and Science, which seems incapable of projecting how many children need schools, much less building the schools quickly and efficiently.

The Government also must ensure that sites for schools are acquired quickly and in good time. A shocking situation obtains whereby builders of new housing developments are allowed to charge the Department the housing value of the land, thus greatly increasing the cost of building schools. It should be a requirement of all planning permissions for large housing developments that sites be provided at the original value of the land, not only for schools but for other social amenities. Many schools built in the 1970s and 1980s are poorly insulated and have high heating costs, much of the money for which must be raised by parents and volunteers.

When I hear the Government or its friends in the Construction Industry Federation — dear friends they are — boasting about how many housing units have been constructed, the phrase, "never mind the quality, feel the width" comes to mind. Despite the belated introduction of building regulations, much of the housing built over the past decade is of poor quality and is not up to standard. I read in a newspaper recently of a builder who shamelessly boasted of his wealth and who revealed that on one development, he made 50% profit. In no other developed country do builders make such profits because they are required to build to much higher standards, particularly in respect of insulation. A national insulation scheme, which has been proposed by the Labour Party spokesperson and leader on behalf of the party, would go some way towards reducing energy bills for individual households, as well as reducing Ireland's carbon emissions and frightening dependence on imported oil. The building industry should have been paying for such measures at the time. However, were one to indicate that a levy was required, Members should imagine the squealing from Mr. Parlon and others. Telephone calls would be made in the middle of the night to stress how difficult is the present position. The boom of the last decade has allowed the Government to ignore structural problems in the labour market that now have re-emerged. We have become almost wholly dependent on foreign-owned industry to generate exports and for the building industry to provide local jobs in rural areas. Many more sustainable jobs in local communities must be generated and while county enterprise boards have been effective in such job creation, they are hampered by limitations on the types of enterprises they may assist and on the number of jobs such enterprises may create. The boards' measure 1 budgets in respect of capital and employment and feasibility studies are inadequate. The demand for budgets from new and expanding business far exceeds available funds. Were further funding available, undoubtedly it would result in a greater number of business development opportunities.

I refer to the development of the small business sector. Enterprise boards operate what are known as measure 2 budgets to directly and indirectly support all sectors of small business, including retail, services, manufacturing, construction, health care and transport. The primary focus of this budget is to increase business skills and acumen through training, mentoring and marketing programmes. Investment in such skills leads to better management of business, which in turn leads to growth in job creation across all sectors. Demand for mentoring and information technology support programmes is very high and has a positive and immediate effect on business growth. However, budget constraints mean that county enterprise boards cannot meet the demand and such supports are not available on a year-round basis, thus hindering the growth of the small business sector when it is most needed.

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has imposed quotas in this regard. County enterprise boards are restricted in the allocation of their measure 1 budget. A maximum of 25% and 10% of such a budget can go towards employment grants and feasibility study grants, respectively. Moreover, 30% of grants awarded must be repaid. These quotas are not conducive to small business developments and county enterprise boards should be allowed to facilitate customers' needs and should not be restricted by being obliged to meet quotas.

I refer to the issue of refundable aid. All recipients of grant aid must repay to the enterprise board 30% of the grants received. This reduces the attractiveness of the grant received and increases the level of administration for the client. The level of bureaucracy and regulation is strangling enterprise and must be removed. The issue of having a nanny state and widespread paternalism must be tackled and a root and branch review must be undertaken in this regard.

County and city enterprise boards cannot provide direct financial assistance to any business employing more than ten employees. I have toured the country with Deputy English and some of the Minister of State's colleagues, such as Deputy Ned O'Keeffe, and this has created a critical gap in the level of service provision for businesses with ten or more employees serving the domestic market as no agency has official responsibility for their development. Enterprise Ireland deals with exporters, while IDA Ireland, under Barry O'Leary, is doing an excellent job, with 18 or 19 projects in the pipeline. IDA Ireland has worked hard to do this and I salute it. I also salute Frank Ryan of Enterprise Ireland, which has done a great job. The county enterprise boards also have done a good job. However there is a chasm between the agencies and I ask that this be reviewed. It is important because there are no opportunities for businesses falling within this category to receive financial support towards their expansion and development.

The small business forum has recommended that the enterprise boards should be the first stop shop for all small business needs and should take primary responsibility for information dissemination. This has not yet been implemented. A single source to obtain business legislation, start-up information, training, advice, mentoring and finance would be highly useful to all new business owners and would use the expertise contained in enterprise boards to maximum effect. In changing economic times, enterprise boards should be in a position to offer higher levels of grant aid to businesses that offer high potential in new growth areas, such as the alternative energy, information technology, health management and scientific development sectors. At present, county enterprise boards can offer no additional incentives to those who display enthusiasm or initiative in such areas.

These limitations should be removed and the county enterprise boards must be given more resources and enabled to co-operate with FÁS and the institutes of technology more effectively. Ireland still has many opportunities to develop sustainable and environmentally friendly rural enterprises that are not available to other developed countries. The county enterprise boards are well placed to exploit these opportunities.

Therefore the Labour Party has brought before the House another imaginative initiative in this regard. It proposes loosening the rope, removing levels of bureaucracy, streamlining administration and permitting county enterprise boards to fill the gap that exists between Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. This is particularly crucial in the newer areas to ensure that opportunities are provided in this regard.

IDA Ireland has much surplus land nationwide in sites of five and seven acres and many people want small incubator units. It is wonderful to be able to roll out the red carpet when 200 to 250 jobs are brought in. Everyone is delighted with that and I salute the Minister of State's efforts in this regard. I heard him speak at the Small Firms Association and I carefully considered his speech. The Minister of State knows, on reflection, that small is beautiful. We must start thinking small and realise that three, five, seven and ten-unit jobs are critical to the country. This is particularly true in rural areas, where the sustainability of the rural fabric of the community is of vital importance.

We in the Labour Party will give a voice to that community because it is critical to sustain the rural fabric by ensuring people get an opportunity to work in their own environment. The idea is environmentally friendly and carbon neutral, so it will serve in the reduction of carbon footprints. There are so many positives that we see it as a no-brainer. We call on the Government to withdraw its amendment and support the Labour Party motion. It is positive in terms of ensuring that people get an opportunity to return to gainful employment as quickly as possible.

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I congratulate my colleague, Deputy William Penrose, on putting forward this motion. It is obvious from the events of the last week, month and year that the tectonic plates of the Irish economy are moving. Today's quarterly economic commentary from the ESRI forecasts a deeper downturn, which really indicates that a job strategy for the short and medium term is needed urgently from the Government. The ESRI expects that next year the rate of unemployment will grow to 8%. As has been said before, we have been losing jobs at the rate of 300 a week since the Taoiseach, Deputy Brian Cowen, took office.

The Celtic tiger period is over and we are entering a new phase where the scourge of unemployment is once more stalking the land, showing no respect to the city, town, village or, as Deputy Penrose has said, the rural countryside. We have seen large numbers of young men become unemployed. Some may well emigrate or go for a year or two to the United States, New Zealand or Australia. In other cases, immigrants who came here to work in the construction industry may well return home.

Nonetheless, we are facing into a position we have not seen since the late 1980s and early 1990s, where sustained unemployment is becoming the norm for significant groups of people. It would be a tragedy if the Government, which has worked so hard to rescue distressed bankers, did not feel some concern about the distress of families and individuals who are facing unemployment.

Whether this is a long recession or a relatively short period through which we can transit to a more mature and solid — if modest — rate of economic growth and prosperity depends on how the Government deals with the current position. Handled badly, particularly in next week's budget, and if too much activity is sucked from the economy, the Government will turn a recession into a depression. The modest and careful proposals by the Labour Party aim to put people back to work through retraining and reskilling, and they are critical for tens of thousands of families in every village and town across the country.

The Government has rightly sought to address the banking crisis, but dealing with that crisis must not become the Government's excuse for avoiding the unemployment crisis. The Government has threatened a dire budget next week and all indications are that the brunt of a difficult budget will be borne by middle class families and working people. It is their husbands, wives, children, sisters and brothers who are becoming redundant or unemployed.

Labour's proposals are important in directing people back to employment. They are achievable within the reduced resources now available. It is really important that the Government takes this in — if it takes too much advice from the bankers it will concentrate on the high finance sector of the economy rather than jobs in all the different manifestations, as highlighted by Deputy Penrose. In particular, there are high-tech jobs in pharmaceuticals and IT, but there are also the small, medium and large indigenous local enterprises on which we must focus again.

We must be particularly aware of the number of young men leaving the construction industry, with many from rural areas now going back to farming even though they are unlikely to earn a proper income. A strategy by the Government for dealing with that is absolutely essential.

We heard last night of the threat of 1,500 redundancies in Aer Lingus, with many of them in Dublin, the mid-west and possibly some in Cork. This is devastating. When Aer Lingus and other large companies restructured before, people were given notice. Dublin West is in many ways the home of restructuring. Other jobs and avenues were available before, but in a recession there will not be other jobs. That will make life, as we approach Christmas, so hard for so many families.

I will mention some particular issues. One thing we asked of the Government in the debate on banking last week was to consider the issue of distress. In the context of the banking crisis, the lack of liquidity has a direct and congruent impact on the capacity of firms to continue to get overdrafts or actually pay and employ people. On its own, the banking crisis is clearly of enormous significance but its significance to the real economy, consisting of firms employing people and others who are self-employed, is perhaps even more important. This is what caused the significant level of difficulty in the United States. If the Government does not connect the cause of the banking crisis and its impact that could lead to massive unemployment in this country, its analysis and capacity to create a strategy to get us out of this will be limited.

On Committee Stage in last week's debate, we tabled amendment No. 19a, which indicated the six banks in the system — as well as the eight others now mentioned as queuing for the guarantee scheme — should produce a scheme for people in distress as a result of unemployment and who are in danger of losing their houses through an incapacity to pay a mortgage for a certain time. The courts opened yesterday and Start Mortgages, ACC and various other banks lined up to take people in, charging them not just the arrears of mortgages, but horrendous penalties and legals fees. This is exploitation of distress at an extreme level. The Minister of State should know that in Islamic countries, banks are not allowed, under Islamic law known as riba, to inflict distress on innocent people who are the victims of an economic downturn without seeking to give them a mechanism by which they can salvage their position over a period.

I will mention another issue regarding this week's budget. Many people becoming unemployed were self-employed in the construction sector and were working on certs. These people and possibly their partners have been working. If these people lose their jobs and the partner is working either full-time or part-time, they will go down to being a single income family. In this case, they will lose their income and have to wait a long period to qualify for a social welfare payment or mortgage interest relief support from the community welfare officer. They will also suffer a penalty of between approximately €2,000 and €6,000 because in tax terms they will move from being a double income family with double income allowances to being a single income family and subject to the hammer of individualisation introduced by Charlie McCreevy to force both parents out to work.

Given these changing circumstances and the loss of the breadwinner's job in families where the man works in the construction sector and the woman probably works in paid employment, I ask the Minister to have regard to what individualisation will do to such families. The impact may not be felt this year because these families will, I hope, have some taxable income for both spouses but it will be felt next year when they will receive limited social welfare payments because they have been self-employed and a whammy of a tax penalty by means of extra taxes of between €2,000 and €6,000.

Photo of Arthur MorganArthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Labour Party for sharing time with me this evening and on many other occasions recently, and commend Deputy Penrose and his colleagues for tabling this important motion.

Much of the discussion in the lead-up to budget 2009 has centred short-sightedly on the need for cuts to public spending and a stimulus package for the plummeting property market. The crucial area of job creation and enterprise has been overlooked as the main means of rebuilding our struggling economy. With unemployment at its highest levels in a decade and certain to increase next year, the Government's options for raising revenue will continue to be seriously curtailed unless a strategy can be put in place to put more people in employment, thereby increasing direct revenue returns and lessening the drain on public resources through social welfare payments.

While every sector is being hit by job losses — as the motion correctly points out, announcements of redundancies in the manufacturing sector have become depressingly frequent — the construction sector has been worst affected. It is important to analyse how this sector managed to attract such large numbers of young people, particularly men, and was allowed to develop to the extent it did. In the ten-year period up to 2007, employee numbers in the industry soared from fewer than 100,000 to 260,000. At its peak, construction accounted for almost one quarter of all economic activity and much of the increase was driven by tax reliefs and property incentives offered by the Government.

The gross mutability of the construction sector allowed the Government, the heads of industry and the banks to profit from people getting themselves into debt to own a home. The aforementioned looked on as thousands of young people left their schooling prematurely to join what was at best a precarious industry to avail of opportunities which everyone involved knew could not last. In a reply to a recent parliamentary question, I was informed that approximately 50% of those who lost their jobs in construction in the past two years were aged under 25 years and a large percentage of them did not have a leaving certificate.

Another problem faced by those suffering the downturn in construction appears to be the large numbers who were forced into becoming C2 certificate holders, that is, self-employed, by employers who wished to avoid making basic payments on their behalf. In highlighting this phenomenon at the time, I stated it would cause problems later and, unfortunately, it appears that I was correct. I have been contacted by a number of constituents who have realised they do not have the basic PRSI levels required to avail of social welfare payments now that they are out of work.

It is essential that we help those who are becoming unemployed in the construction sector. A specific back to education scheme for construction sector workers aged under 25 must be introduced and the State must provide training and upskilling courses for alternative industries to construction through FÁS and third level institutions. It is also vital that retraining is provided in the area of construction to allow workers to continue in the energy saving and renewable energy sectors.

The predicament of C2 workers must be addressed. One initiative could be to allow stamps for the previous five years to be considered for welfare payments, rather than the two-year criterion currently applied. It is also essential that next year the Government frontloads infrastructure projects which can employ workers from the construction sector and increase our competitiveness, including transport, schools, creches, social housing and hospital building.

As indicated, the loss of jobs extends beyond construction. Our manufacturing sector has been hard pressed for a number of years. Last Friday, I listened with interest at an ISME conference as employers explained to a representative from a major bank how they had felt ignored by the banking sector in recent years. They described how tough it was to get start-up loans or loans for equipment and expansion and how the banks did not want to know them unless they were dealing in property. Unfortunately, we are all paying the price for the Government's love affair with property and speculators.

This does not mean, however, that we do not have the potential to turn around the economic crisis and start creating jobs as opposed to losing them. My party colleagues and I have highlighted in particular our underperforming indigenous export market. A report published by Forfás in 2006 showed that foreign-owned firms were responsible for 90.2% of exports from this State in that year. The value of these exports, which include manufacturing and internationally-traded services, amounted to €96.4 billion whereas the total value of exports of Irish-owned manufacturing and internationally-traded services firms amounted to only €10.5 billion. This area is crying out for Government intervention and stimulation.

The Government can take a number of initiatives to support the export market and stimulate jobs in the manufacturing sector. These include: helping Irish producers to access export markets outside the United States and Britain, for example, by providing language and local regulation supports; increasing the use of Irish embassies to access local market knowledge and management personnel; and increasing training of sales personnel with a good mix of industry background and technical knowledge.

Community employment schemes are another area of importance. These schemes are offered to unemployed workers at a marginally higher rate of payment than basic unemployment benefit. They can be useful for the community in terms of the service they provide, and to the individual by keeping him or her in work mode and offering new training. In seeking an increase in the number of CE schemes in the months ahead as the unemployment rate rises, I add a note of caution. Many of those who are losing their jobs have children in expensive child care facilities which they can no longer afford. Those entering community employment schemes will, therefore, require child care. More community-based child care places must be provided as a matter of urgency because the lack of affordable child care is one of the principal obstacles facing those who are seeking employment. Child care frequently costs the equivalent of a mortgage and families cannot afford to pay for it. I hope the Government will take serious action to tackle this problem in the months ahead.

With all the furore surrounding the Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Act passed in the House last week, the people who are suffering most in these times of turmoil, namely, those who have lost their jobs or are on the of losing their jobs, are largely ignored. We in Sinn Féin were out first thing on Tuesday morning last calling for the Government to introduce a similar package of emergency measures to protect this group of people from home repossessions, and throughout last week we called on the Government to examine the issue of job losses.

This week, however, the headlines have changed as media reports focus on the budget deficit figure and what cuts will have to be made in next week's budget to manage the economy. If a decision can be made to secure a sector that benefited handsomely from the boom and was the cause of its own threatened demise — although I accept the necessity of the Government's decision of last week — it would be morally reprehensible not to invest the same effort and energy in solving unemployment and the problems faced by those who have become unemployed. I hope the Government takes due consideration of this fact before it formulates any cuts in social welfare next week or makes any decisions that could in any way affect the likelihood of jobs being made available next year, for example, by cutting infrastructure projects.

I look forward to the remainder of the debate and hope the House will pass this laudable motion. I commend Deputy Penrose and his colleagues for placing it before the House.

Photo of Mary CoughlanMary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

"recognises:

the increase in the number of people signing on the live register; and

that the Government have brought forward the 2009 budget by six weeks to address the effects of the dramatic downturn in the global economy;

commends the Government for:

stabilising the banking system to ensure that Irish enterprises, small, medium and large, have access to the funds necessary for their day to day operation, therefore protecting jobs and confidence in the Irish economy;

its stewardship of the economy and employment market to date, which means that Ireland meets the current challenges from a strong position with over 640,000 jobs having been created over the last 11 years and over 2.1 million in employment;

the measures it is putting in place to ensure that those who become unemployed are given effective employment services and training supports to assist their return to employment and, in particular, the increased Government focus on activation and jobs facilitation;

the retraining of those previously employed in the construction sector;

the measures being taken to help apprentices to complete their training despite the current conditions in the construction sector;

the strong successes that have been achieved in attracting foreign direct investment to Ireland;

the substantial support given to community employment schemes, which give people employment experience and assist in their return to the open labour market;

the continued training and upskilling of the workforce in line with the National Skills Strategy by various agencies including FÁS and Skillnets; and

the work of the county and city enterprise boards which have a clearly defined role as the principal deliverers of State support to the micro-enterprise sector in Ireland and which deliver targeted valuable assistance, both financial and non-financial, to business start-ups with good growth and employment potential;

and acknowledges:

that the conditions for the back to education allowance have been amended to provide immediate access to the scheme for people who are awarded statutory redundancy and have established an entitlement to a social welfare payment."

Ar dtús báire, ba mhaith liom cead a fháil ón Teach mo chuid ama a roinnt le mo chomhleacaí, an tAire Stáit. Molaim an rún.

I welcome this debate and, in particular, this opportunity for the Government to set out how and why it is well placed to meet the challenges that face Ireland and that face most other major western economies as a result of today's difficult global economic climate.

I begin by acknowledging the unwelcome increase in the numbers on the live register. As a small open economy, Ireland is vulnerable to the fallout from the current economic turbulence, particularly the recent and ongoing severe fluctuations on the world's stock markets. The turbulence has affected major banks and businesses across the globe, including those here at home. This day last week we introduced legislation in this House aimed at addressing the difficulties affecting our own banking sector. In my contribution to the debate, I pointed out that the importance of maintaining liquidity within the Irish banking sector was not only key to the ongoing ability of our banks to do business but also to our small, medium and large enterprises. Their ability to get and retain credit impacts directly on the ability of their businesses to survive and therefore keep their employees in a job. The decision we took in the House last week was not an easy one but it is one that has ensured we are not debating a significantly more serious set of circumstances in the House this evening. That said, our actions last week are of little comfort to any individual or family directly affected by the loss of employment or income during the past number of months. It will take further difficult decisions by this Government in the coming weeks to make secure their futures and to ensure we return to stable economic and job growth in the short to medium term. In bringing forward its budget by six weeks, the Government has made it clear that we are determined to make those necessary decisions.

During the past two decades we have witnessed an unprecedented and extraordinary economic performance in the Irish economy. This performance has seen living standards raised to a level that would have been unimaginable a generation ago. It was a period which, as at the end of the second quarter of 2008, saw an additional 600,000 people in employment, reflecting a rise of more than 40% compared to the same period ten years ago.

This has resulted in the creation of the first generation of Irish people who have experienced the opportunity to work and build a prosperous future in their own country. It has happened because this Government has embraced the opportunity of creating a confident, dynamic and highly skilled workforce capable of competing in the international economy. As a result, success has been built and sustained and today we have an economy of which we can be proud and an employment market well placed to meet and tackle the current economic challenges.

In a global knowledge-based economy we must increasingly recognise human talent and creativity as a key resource and the principal sustainable source of competitive advantage. Given the particular global turbulence-related challenges we face today, how we unlock and further expand this talent and creativity in our workplaces has become an even more crucial issue.

Against this background, I first want to turn to the measures the Government is putting in place to ensure that those who become unemployed are provided with effective employment services and training supports to help them to return to employment.

FÁS, as the national training and employment authority, provides a range of proactive job-related services, supports and programmes to assist individuals to remain in and return to the labour market. The agency also promotes workforce development by upgrading the competencies and qualifications of individuals and by providing and facilitating targeted training programmes and services to both employers and employees. FÁS is working closely with the Department of Social and Family Affairs so they can together respond quickly to the rising live register numbers. For example, FÁS, together with the local employment services provided by area-based partnerships, is currently gearing up its employment services to provide increased capacity for expected increased referrals from the live register. In addition, FÁS will provide a range of certified, short, flexible, modular programmes designed to upskill redundant workers in order that they can enhance their prospect of securing employment. A number of programmes are already in place and the frequency and range of these will be expanded over the coming months. A range of actions are also being implemented by FÁS for those affected by the construction slowdown, including focusing on providing retraining opportunities for redundant construction workers in emerging areas within the construction sector. This will include retraining in the following areas of activity — the installation of sustainable technologies, environmental activity, and compliance and regulatory work. FÁS will also assist individuals in any way it can in seeking employment abroad in construction in other EU countries.

FÁS has a specific policy in place to deal with redundancies and-or company closures. It offers a tailored approach, as early as possible, to the workers affected with a view to assisting them to access alternative employment. This applies to workers in all sectors, including construction. FÁS has a fast track redundancy notification system in place with my Department to ensure a speedy and appropriate response is provided to redundant workers. Each response is tailored on a case-by-case basis. As part of the consultation process in the case of company closures and major redundancies, FÁS establishes the scale of the redundancies, the skills profile of the employees affected, the number of years' experience of the employees, their level of education and any other information deemed relevant to the particular case in question.

In addressing the issue of redundancies, FÁS liaises with other relevant agencies such as Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, the city and county enterprise boards and the Department of Social and Family Affairs. It also works closely with the agencies to identify and support individuals who wish to start their own businesses. There is also active engagement with the unemployed after three months on the live register to assist them to progress towards employment, training or active labour market programmes.

I referred to the actions FÁS is carrying out in regard to retraining those formerly employed in the construction sector. We are all aware there has been a significant downturn in construction-related activity since the start of this year. The construction sector is currently undergoing a major structural change. Resulting from this structural change there has been a significant increase in the numbers of people within the construction sector who have been made redundant and also a corresponding increase in the number of apprentices being made redundant. To respond to these challenges we have instructed FÁS, as the national training and employment authority, to place a particular focus on providing support and retraining opportunities to construction workers and apprentices who have been made redundant.

A recent FÁS report while recognising that the fall in construction sector employment can be attributed to the downturn in the house-building sector also states that this fall will be partially offset by an expansion in other subsectors of the construction sector, including those such as housing repairs and maintenance, general contracting and civil engineering. Since its publication, FÁS has begun the process of implementing the report's recommendations. As part of this process FÁS, in addition to the usual supports it provides to redundant workers, has established a training fund to enable it provide a timely response to identified training-retraining needs for low skilled and redundant craft workers from the construction sector. It is intended that this will enable individuals to secure a speedy return to work or, where this cannot be secured, to provide relevant upskilling opportunities in order that job seekers can secure employment in alternative sectors. FÁS is currently focusing on providing retraining opportunities for redundant construction workers in emerging areas such as the installation of energy efficient and renewable technologies within that sector.

In regard to redundant apprentices, my Department and FÁS have been actively examining this issue and have put in place a series of actions to facilitate redundant apprentices in completing their studies. These include redundant apprentices being allowed to progress to their next off-the-job phase of training without having to do the next on-the-job phase. FÁS has also established a register of redundant workers by trade in order to identify these people at the earliest possible point in time and we have prioritised the need to locate an employer to sponsor the completion of the apprentices' off-the-job training. In addition to these initiatives the traditional employment support services provided by FÁS are available to apprentices who have been made redundant.

My Department and FÁS will continue to monitor the trends and activities in the industry and will work with all the relevant stakeholders to ensure timely and satisfactory responses to assist redundant construction workers and apprentices to secure alternative employment whether in the construction sector or another area of the economy.

Further help for those who have become distanced from the labour market for some time and who are seeking to re-enter it is provided by the community employment scheme, CE. CE is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a fixed-term basis. The programme helps unemployed people to progress to the open labour market by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return to work routine and assists them in developing both their technical and personal skills.

The Government is investing €377 million this year in CE with a view to maintaining overall numbers on FÁS schemes at 2007 levels. There are currently 22,400 people employed on CE schemes nationally. In delivering these places, FÁS operates flexibly in the management of this allocation in order to maximise progression to the labour market, while also facilitating the support of community services.

I will now deal with the importance of skills and human capital development for our competitiveness. The continuing development of Ireland's education and training systems will be key to maintaining and sustaining our economic success. That success is, now more than ever, dependent on our continued ability to produce individuals who possess the necessary skills and qualifications to succeed in this era of change.

We must ensure that our education and training systems continue to harness the collective skills and talents of our workforce. We must ensure that our systems meet the changing needs of our society from an economic and social perspective. In short, we must continue to invest in the development of our greatest asset, namely, our people. It is of paramount importance to continue to focus attention on developing the skills of our population in order that members of the labour force can consistently adapt and upgrade their skills to meet emerging opportunities and challenges.

We must encourage greater participation in lifelong learning by facilitating and motivating people to increase their skill levels and qualifications. It is no longer the case that learning should be seen as something that is complete once a person finishes his or her initial formal education. We must all look to continue our skills development throughout our working lives. Lifelong learning is key to our continued success. It is also vital in ensuring that we remain one of the world's leading knowledge economies. That is why the Government is committed in the social partnership agreement, Towards 2016, the national development plan and, more recently, the national skills strategy to continue to invest significantly in the development of the workforce.

The continued support and enhancement of measures to increase the number of people who are upskilling and participating in lifelong learning will be essential if we are to realise the vision contained in the national skills strategy. The Government, through the training programmes run by FÁS and Skillnets, is committed to investing in lifelong learning opportunities for the workforce. In order to be truly effective, however, this will require a similar commitment from the social partners and individuals. If we are to succeed, we must all fully embrace the opportunities and challenges that lifelong learning presents to us individually and, collectively, as a nation.

Despite current global turbulence, we nonetheless remain determined to further develop the country's economy and create the right conditions for fostering growth in the business sector. We must not lose sight of the fact that we must ensure the continued development of our enterprise sector even in these challenging times. On a macro level, Enterprise Ireland, at the direction of the Government, is committed to the development of world-class Irish companies so that they achieve strong positions in global markets. The agency works effectively with both manufacturing and internationally-trading services companies and provides a variety of financial and non-financial supports to enable their development and growth in international markets.

There is no doubt that future prosperity will be founded on the development and growth of Irish-owned companies. This vision can be realised if the challenges faced by Irish enterprise are met head on. In that context, the development of the strength and depth of our indigenous sector will be critical if we are to return to the levels of prosperity achieved in recent years. We will need to foster the emergence of significant numbers of new indigenous businesses that have the potential to achieve significant growth, are highly innovative, embrace and develop new technologies, are export driven and, above all else, are productive and sustainable. We will only be able to foster the emergence of such enterprises if the operating environment for business, particularly smaller concerns, is supportive. This will continue to be a key focus of Government policy.

The Government has put in place policies and programmes that encourage the emergence of new business creations and facilitate long-term business survival. Examples of the actions we have taken include the positioning of our tax system as one of the most supportive of business in the world; the development of Ireland as a knowledge-based economy through the dedication of significant Exchequer resources to the promotion of research and development; the introduction of the better regulation programme to tackle regulatory burdens, particularly those faced by the business community; and the adoption of new strategies to support the enterprise sector — including small businesses — based on the reports of the enterprise strategy group and the Small Business Forum.

The level of entrepreneurship in Ireland is strong. The 2007 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report for Ireland shows that the number of entrepreneurs in Ireland increased during the past year to the extent that 2,700 individuals were setting up new businesses each month throughout the country. Some 1,000 of these were women. If, however, we are to build a much greater number of competitive and innovative companies, then many new businesses will have to be created in the coming years. The challenge is not only to generate a high level of new businesses being started but also to maximise the number of innovative businesses among them that subsequently develop to achieve high growth. The education and training sector will play a critical role in developing entrepreneurial mindsets and in equipping current and future entrepreneurs with the skills necessary to successfully strategically position new enterprises and then manage their subsequent development and growth.

The SME sector is making an important contribution to our economic prosperity, with over 250,000 small businesses employing approximately 800,000 people in operation here. The county and city enterprise boards have a clearly defined role as the principal deliverers of State support to the micro-enterprise sector. As a result of their strong regional presence, they have been to the forefront of Ireland's recent economic success and are now well placed to help micro-enterprises deal with challenging economic circumstances. The enterprise boards have an excellent track record in tapping into local entrepreneurial potential and their focus has increasingly been on the development of sustainable growth-orientated local enterprise, which can deliver high quality job creation without displacement or dead weight. The current parameters within which the enterprise boards operate enable them to deliver valuable assistance to business start-ups, with good growth and employment potential.

The work of the Government, though IDA Ireland, in fostering the growth and development of business in this country is also core to the continuing development of the economy, particularly during these difficult times. The level of foreign direct investment, FDI, in Ireland, relative to the size of the economy, is one of the highest in the world. When measuring FDI job creation relative to population size, Ireland is ranked in the top three locations. At present, the FDI sector here comprises approximately 1,000 companies which employ 136,000 people directly, with a substantial multiple in indirect employment.

The quality of investments from global companies into Ireland is of the highest standard, reflecting the remarkable evolution of the business ecosystem in Ireland as international competition and economic conditions here have developed. In the past year, Google, Cisco,GlaxoSmithKline, PepsiCo and Georgia Tech invested here. In recent days, and despite ongoing global economic turbulence, such prestigious international names as Cook Medical and Facebook have invested in Ireland. This is clear evidence of evolution to which I refer. Some 114 new investments were won in 2007, which was an excellent result.

In keeping with a cohesive national strategy of collaboration among all stakeholders, we continue the economic transformation of Ireland into a leading 21st century knowledge economy and we look forward to securing new projects, investments, research and development operations and some broader research collaborations again in 2008 and beyond. The focus of the transformation must shift from pure employment numbers to take account of the job scope and value added to the economy.

We are now winning higher value-added FDI in new and emerging business areas such as Internet and media business. We are also targeting the high-growth clean-tech sector and have established a dedicated team to drive this initiative.

I am running out of time.

Photo of Kathleen LynchKathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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The Minister has two and a half minutes remaining.

Photo of Damien EnglishDamien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Does the Minister wish to tell us anything?

Photo of Mary CoughlanMary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I have provided a great deal of information.

Photo of Damien EnglishDamien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The Minister keeps giving the same speech.

Photo of Mary CoughlanMary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Many of those opposite do not wish that information to become widely known.

Photo of Damien EnglishDamien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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This is the third occasion on which I have heard this speech.

8:00 pm

Photo of Mary CoughlanMary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland continues to be one of the most attractive places in the world as a location for global business. With our highly educated, skilled and adaptable workforce, our strong focus on research and development and knowledge, and our can-do, responsive and open attitude, we remain a location of choice. As a small open economy, Ireland welcomes the continued strong interest demonstrated by many of the world's leading companies in investing and expanding here. Ireland has transformed as an economy in recent years. We are well positioned to continue this transformation in the future. We are pro-business, pro-European and proud to be always to the forefront of the minds of global business leaders as they make critical investment decisions. Despite the economic turbulence being experienced, a reasonably strong investment pipeline, coupled with our positive reputation with some of the world's leading companies, leads us to be optimistic that we will continue to secure for Ireland the best in innovation and investments from around the globe.

As Members are aware, good macroeconomic and sound enterprise policies generate new, sustainable jobs and advance the standard of living of citizens. Against the background of what is undoubtedly a challenging global economic climate, I contend that the Government has in place the correct balance of policies and flexibility of approach to ensure that we continue to not only maintain the current high level of employment numbers, but also to generate new employment opportunities. In so doing, we will maintain the social and economic advantages that have been acquired for this country during the past decade.

Photo of Jimmy DevinsJimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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Hear, hear.

Photo of Seán HaugheySeán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate and will focus my remarks on the vital issue of lifelong learning. As Minister of State with responsibility for lifelong learning, I fully recognise the importance of education and training in terms of the positive impact it has on individuals and on the economic prospects of an entire country. In Ireland today, our ability to compete with international competitors is dependent on the skills and competencies of our workforce. We are internationally considered to have a workforce that is flexible, innovative, committed and highly skilled. We would all agree that these strengths of our workforce have been the bedrock of our remarkable economic transformation.

Events over the past few weeks, in particular the current financial turmoil which is gripping the entire world economy, demonstrate not only the pace of change but also the sheer scale of globalisation in the 21st century. The quality and intensity of global competition is increasing all the time. Our competitors will continue to work hard to make their business climates and infrastructures more attractive to global investors and many will rely on labour cost advantages. The developed world is beginning to wake up to the former sleepy economic giants of China, India and Brazil in terms of global competitiveness and investment.

Ireland is a small and open economy and we are feeling the affects of the present economic turmoil. However, we remain an attractive location for high-end, skill-intensive operations. If we are to continue to prosper in these increasingly challenging times, it is pivotal that we take prudent action now in key areas that will enable us to safeguard our future economic and social development.

The skills and competencies level of our labour force is one such area. The Government firmly believes that our future success can only be guaranteed by continuing our policy of investing in our education and training systems. Through our primary, secondary and third level education system, combined with massive Government investment in vocational education and training, Ireland is well placed to take her place on the world stage as a star performer in the global knowledge economy.

We must continue to produce highly-educated and skilled individuals. We must ensure that the country has a labour force with the ability to not only meet the needs of enterprises but also, more importantly, to allow Ireland to quickly respond to emerging opportunities that will present themselves. In short, Ireland must create and develop competitive advantage in terms of the skills and qualifications of our labour force. This will be key to maintaining our success and will allow us to continue to compete in the increasingly competitive global marketplace.

Lifelong learning will, therefore, play a key role in enabling Ireland to remain competitive in the future. Participation by adults in education and training is still significantly underdeveloped here compared with other economies. We must, therefore, encourage greater participation in lifelong learning by facilitating and motivating people to increase their skill levels and qualifications. Key to achieving this goal is our national skills strategy.

The national skills strategy was published in March 2007 and was completed by the expert group on future skills needs in response to the Government's request for the group to undertake a comprehensive analysis of Ireland's labour market and skills needs to 2020. The results of the analysis contain an ambitious vision for the skills profile in Ireland in 2020. It shows that if Ireland is to progress ahead of our competitors, we need to increase our focus on skills development at a number of levels.

We need to upskill by at least one level on the national framework of qualifications, an additional 500,000 people by 2020. The strategy clearly shows that the majority of these people, in excess of 330,000, are currently considered to be low skilled and, therefore, the implementation of the vision needs to have a special focus on the low skilled. The national skills strategy has helped us to target specific skills and sectors that will become increasingly important in the next few years. It has allowed us to identify and address specific gaps in our skills base and will help us to build an education and training system that will allow us to quickly adapt and respond to the challenging global business environment.

The achievement of the ambitious targets contained in the national skills strategy requires a co-ordinated implementation process. As Minister with responsibility for lifelong learning, I have responsibility for overseeing this entire process and bringing together the relevant Departments to ensure a co-ordinated response. In this regard, I chair the interdepartmental committee for the implementation of the national skills strategy. This committee, which consists of senior officials from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Department of Education and Science and the Department of Finance, is responsible for preparing an implementation plan.

It is my intention that this plan will examine the existing provision of education and training to ensure a co-ordinated and efficient provision between the education and training sectors. The implementation plan will also determine the key areas and initiatives that will require additional focus in order to achieve the objectives of the national skills strategy. I intend that this implementation plan will be completed by early next year.

While work is progressing on developing the implementation plan for the national skills strategy, the Government has already taken action to assist those who have been affected by the significant downturn in activity in the construction sector. FÁS has been instructed, as the national training and employment authority, to place particular focus on providing support and retraining opportunities to construction workers and apprentices who have been made redundant as a result of the downturn in the construction sector. This focus is in addition to the normal employment services support FÁS provides to people who have been made redundant.

Specifically, FÁS has established a training fund that will allow it respond in a prompt manner by providing training and retraining opportunities to redundant construction workers to enable them gain alternative employment. FÁS currently provides upskilling opportunities in emerging areas within the construction sector, including the installation of renewable energy technologies, to redundant construction workers. The Government is committed to assisting in whatever way possible construction workers who have been made redundant.

As I also have responsibility for the programmes delivered under the auspices of the Department of Education and Science, I want to take this opportunity to mention the vocational training opportunities scheme, VTOS. This scheme is a second chance education and training programme, which provides courses of up to two years' duration for unemployed people. The scheme is delivered locally by the VECs across 99 centres nationwide and provides education and training to some 5,000 participants. It has proved to be very successful, with VTOS progression statistics for 2007 showing, where the course was of two years' duration, over 72% of participants who completed the programme in that year had progressed to either employment or further education and training. The scheme has proved to be a great success in opening up learning and progression opportunities for people who have been marginalised by unemployment.

Our future competitiveness and success as an economy and society lies within our hands. Targeting our investment in education and training to achieve the objectives of the national skills strategy will provide Ireland with competitive advantage in the key area of skills. Ireland's workforce will continue to be the basis of our success. I have the utmost confidence in the ability of our workforce to successfully compete with the best in the world. The Government for its part is committed to investing in education and training and the continued promotion of lifelong learning. However, in order for us to guarantee our future success, we all, including the Government, the social partners, our education and training providers and each and every one of us, must truly embrace the benefits of lifelong learning by actively participating in it when the opportunity arises.

The interdepartmental committee, consisting of representatives of the three Departments I already mentioned, has met on two occasions. We are finalising an implementation plan which it is hoped to publish early in the new year. This will set out a vision for the implementation of the national skills strategy and will oblige all involved in lifelong learning to play their role, the institutes of technology, third level colleges, the VECs, the further education sector, FÁS, Skillnet and all those involved in training. All these partners, the workforce, learners and society in general will come together behind the implementation plan and set about upskilling the workforce and achieving the ambitious targets set out in the national skills strategy by 2020.

Photo of Damien EnglishDamien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I wish to share time with Deputies Clune and Coveney.

Photo of Kathleen LynchKathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.

Photo of Damien EnglishDamien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I welcome this Labour Party motion, which addresses a serious issue. My party has tabled additional amendments that may be accommodated as the debate proceeds. However, I do not think we can accept the Government's amendments. This issue is becoming increasingly serious and has to be addressed through the range of initiatives which have been set out in the motion and my party's amendments.

Unemployment figures are increasing. The Government has to acknowledge this problem and accept its responsibility for solving it because one of its functions is job creation. Tonight's debate presents an opportunity to discuss ideas rather than criticise the Government. That is what Deputy Penrose and his colleagues have done thus far but the Tánaiste has rehearsed the same speech which I have heard at least ten times already. Earlier today, I attended a meeting with IDA Ireland at which the same historical figures were thrown about. During the meetings that the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment held with FÁS, Enterprise Ireland and the county enterprise boards, we heard the same 11 year old references. A lot has changed in the past 11 years so there is no point in comparing job figures. Let us deal with the problems that will arise in the coming months and forget about clapping ourselves on the back for all that was done. We need to ask what new ideas we can try. The Opposition is here to discuss these ideas with a view to finding a positive outcome. Several months ago, the joint committee invited the various organisations to discuss these ideas but all we received were history presentations. There was no discussion on new strategies for job creation. While I hope next week's budget will reveal new ideas, we should start to discuss them now so that we can reach agreement on what will work.

The Tánaiste referred to pensioners and the new measures that FÁS is implementing. I am not aware of these measures. We are told it is compiling a database for matching those who have lost jobs with new employment. It made one change so that it can avoid working on-site to move to the next phase of education. No other new ideas are forthcoming.

Photo of Jimmy DevinsJimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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She outlined exactly what FÁS is doing.

Photo of Damien EnglishDamien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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She did not say anything. She is the do-nothing Minister. The Deputy should read her contribution again. FÁS appeared before the joint committee on two occasions to speak about reports and meetings with the Construction Industry Federation, yet nothing happened.

Photo of Willie PenroseWillie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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It is closing the jobs club in Carrick-on-Suir.

Photo of Damien EnglishDamien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Exactly. In April 2007, prior to the general election, FÁS set up a working group to consider this area. It knew that problems had arisen but kept quiet about them. Here we are, 18 months later, with no new proposal. What is happening?

We all agree that county enterprise boards do excellent work but most of them have received no money since July. They create jobs and achieve value for money, yet they are not funded. We have met various organisations throughout the country and have found that the funding has dried up. Can we not give money to the people who create jobs?

We spoke previously about the necessity for local authorities to purchase land to provide low cost sites to people who want to expand or move their businesses and create new jobs. This week, however, several county councils have been instructed not to purchase land. They were told to cancel the deals, even though they had almost been completed, because all bets are off and there is no money to spend on land for sites. We will cut off the opportunity to create jobs because we will have pulled the plug on local authorities and enterprise boards. It is an absolute disgrace.

The rules on enterprise boards are too restrictive. They were acceptable when the economy was growing but the environment has changed. We have repeatedly asked the Government to investigate whether the rules can be changed so that enterprise boards can create employment when they finally receive money.

The motion refers to the school building programme. Lifelong learning starts with child care and primary school. We are failing young people because they are not being given the opportunity to engage properly with education. A proposal that leads to investment in schools would be a major help in winning them over at an early stage in their lives. It would also solve two problems at the same time. This proposal has received widespread attention over the past seven months but it was not mentioned in the Tánaiste's speech. She could at least have told us it cannot be done. I ask for some reaction to what we suggest. If we are wrong, we will put our hands up, but we should at least be told something.

The proposed insulation scheme deserves consideration. Again, however, there was no comment from the Tánaiste. In recent months I have regularly spoken about activation schemes for getting people back to work. Jobs initiatives and community employment schemes do not cater for the newly unemployed. We need solutions that put newly unemployed, highly skilled and motivated people back to work as soon as possible because the social and financial costs of keeping them at home are very high. However, the Tánaiste made no mention of this. We were told that the budget may include a provision in this area but we could have discussed that tonight. Is it not a good idea to match up work that needs to be done in the community with people who have the necessary skills? There is plenty of work to be done on local authority housing, schools, playgrounds and parks. Imagination is needed in matching those with skills to the work that is needed in terms of maintenance and construction or running voluntary organisations and community centres.

We must invest in incubator units. The Government has received 56 applications for these units but I am confident the money is not available for all of them. Can we find the money to guarantee them? We also must find some way of supporting small and medium enterprises because these will create jobs in the future. Can we introduce tax deferrals, reduce Government charges or offer a three-year tax break to new businesses? We could establish a grant system to create new jobs. Does the Government have other ideas for creating jobs? What new functions have been given to organisations with responsibilities on behalf of the Government for job creation? I do not believe the Tánaiste has given them guidance in this regard. We have to generate jobs.

In regard to red tape, we speak about competitiveness but our businesses are at a disadvantage because of the cost of energy, wages, insurance and council charges. These issues must be addressed but the Tánaiste ignored them tonight. I do not seek major change. Simple measures can make a big difference in terms of allowing businesses to compete on the export market and create new jobs. Too many businesses fall through the gap in terms of receiving aid. It is the Government's job to help them because we must get people back to work. We cannot afford sustained increases in live register numbers.

Photo of Deirdre CluneDeirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I commend the Labour Party on moving this motion. I certainly will not be supporting the amendment proposed by the Tánaiste. I particularly object to the claim that the Government is bringing forward the 2009 budget by six weeks to address the effects of the dramatic downturn in the global economy. I understand the budget is being brought forward so we can discuss the deterioration in the Irish economy, which is solely due to mismanagement by the Taoiseach and former Minister for Finance.

The ESRI's quarterly review, which was published today, refers to the global crisis. However, the mess in which we find ourselves is not purely due to that global crisis but also of our own making. We recently heard the announcement, shocking for anybody in a precarious position or who feels his or her job may not be secure, that by the end of 2009 there will be 300,000 unemployed. The ESRI stated today that it had to revise its projections for the economy downwards. Nobody knows where the statistics will go. The figure of 300,000 unemployed is shocking. There will be human stories behind these numbers, although not of the same type we had in the 1980s, because many of those who are unemployed today find themselves living in an economy in which the cost of living, rent and mortgage repayments are high. Some will probably find themselves in negative equity, which is a serious worry for them.

Many of those who find themselves unemployed are younger people, especially those who have been in the construction sector. In recent weeks, as mentioned by Deputy English, representatives of FÁS have appeared at the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment. They have recognised that there are many young people who left school prior to their leaving certificate or with a bare leaving certificate, went into the construction industry, made good money and had a good experience but now find themselves with low skills and unable to compete in the workforce. I heard the Minister's speech this evening and also heard representatives of FÁS talking about investing in these people and ensuring they are retrained and their skills are improved, but I see very little of this. Yes, there are opportunities in housing insulation and driving HGVs and we have heard that there are gaps in the health sector, but we need to see these people being trained and their skills improved in order that they can avail of these possibilities.

Many will go abroad. At the committee we spoke with the representatives of FÁS about working to ensure those in apprenticeships complete them. It is very important for these young people that they at least have their certification. There are opportunities in London, where construction is taking place in preparation for the Olympic Games. Young people who have not yet completed their apprenticeships should be matched with opportunities in the United Kingdom and encouraged to complete their apprenticeships and obtain qualifications. These issues were discussed in committee meetings under the chairmanship of Deputy Penrose, yet I see little of this occurring. It would be a positive contribution which would benefit the young people concerned.

The Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, spoke about retraining and raising skill levels and about education for life. However, according to an EU survey conducted in 2005, only 8% of Irish persons between the ages of 25 and 64 years were in receipt of any form of education in the period prior to the survey. This compares to 35% in Sweden, 29% in the United Kingdom and 28% in Denmark and is well below the EU target of 12.5%. Thus, the Minister of State has a long way to go to reach his targets. He also referred to competitiveness, an extremely important issue. We must ensure we return to our previous position because we have slipped badly in our competitiveness rating. The Minister of State said tonight it was in our own hands. That is true, but we have seen the Government ignore this issue and allow our rating to slip year-on-year, according to the annual reports of the National Competitiveness Council, which will affect investment in this country. Those running businesses who are hoping to employ people here will consider this factor. Unless we address the issue of competitiveness and ensure Ireland is a place where one can run a business efficiently and effectively, we will not be able to tackle rising unemployment rates.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion. In many ways it is similar to the one on the economy which we introduced two weeks ago. It is an opportunity, as Deputy English said, to share some ideas, spur on some new thinking in the Government and try to do what we were elected to do — to offer leadership and initiative when times are tough. Times are tough for many, whether they be employers or employees. Employees are feeling the pinch from all directions. They realise that employers are trying to cut costs by cutting the wage bill; they are also looking at increasing unemployment numbers.

The last ten years of government were primarily about maintaining a momentum that had been created through sensible policies and the development of a competitive economy where people wanted to come and do business and in which Irish businesses were encouraged to develop, grow and invest. A combination of investor confidence, good education and a range of other factors meant that all the Government had to do was to keep pushing the snowball along as it continued to gather momentum and grow in size. All of that has changed. The decisions taken during my ten years in this House were often ignored by the public. They were taken for granted because they were not seen to be relevant. People just got on with their lives and enjoyed the success and confidence that was the new Ireland. That has all changed. In the same way that people turn to other institutions in times of difficulty, they are now turning to the House. They expect us to give leadership and provide new ideas and hope about where Ireland is going. The level of uncertainty, among small business people in particular, but also among employees, is extraordinary. I receive telephone calls from small business people in Cork who are afraid there will be a dramatic increase in rates in order that local authority expenditure in the city can be maintained at a similar level to last year's, because there will be a 10% reduction in the money coming from the Government to local authorities. Business people will have to pick up the tab, because they are the easy sop politically.

We need inspiration, leadership, ideas and honest discussion from the Government.

Photo of Jimmy DevinsJimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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There was leadership last week.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I will get to that.

Photo of Damien EnglishDamien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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More than that is required — a lot more.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State is smiling.

Photo of Jimmy DevinsJimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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No, I am very serious.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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He thinks that what the Government did last week was a brave decision and now the job is done. That is just the start of it. We averted a catastrophe last week. That is the honest truth.

Photo of Pádraic McCormackPádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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It is not over yet.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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We still need to deal with the fundamentals in terms of where the economy is going and what is needed from the Government. I have a few suggestions. From a national point of view, what must be our priority in the budget next week is that we do our job and look after the most vulnerable in Ireland. I am talking about homeless people, disabled people and those in low-income households. We must ensure primarily that people can keep their jobs and their basic State supports to which they are entitled and which we have a responsibility to provide. We must also prioritise expenditure to stimulate economic growth and development by increasing competitiveness. Broadband and IT is an obvious area about which I keep banging the drum. One million houses in Ireland have a computer, but only 57% of them have access to broadband. Among European countries, Ireland has the highest rate of orders over the Internet. A total of 27% of all orders made in Ireland are placed over the Internet. This happens in spite of a poor IT infrastructure which needs to be improved and developed. My city has twice the national average of unemployment. Unemployment in Cork city is now at 12% compared to a national average of 6%. We want the Government to support the big idea in my city, which is about developing a docklands project on a brownfield site, which at 166 ha is probably the biggest in Europe. Investors are lining up to get involved. In the past the Government promised tax incentives, but we have yet to see them. Next week we need to see those incentives to try to get the kind of investment in Ireland's second city needed to create the vast number of jobs that project can create in a relatively short space of time. There could be up to 20,000 jobs on that site. However, because of the silence on the tax incentives that had been promised and because of the Government's deferral of funding it promised under the gateway funds to provide access to that site via two bridges, the project is now stalled even though we have been preparing for it for the past five years.

Both local and national actions can be taken. I have not heard anything from the Government this evening that indicates new thinking or commitments to inspire confidence.

Debate adjourned.