James Bannon (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. The quarterly national household survey meets the requirements of EC Council Regulation 577/98, adopted in March 1998, which necessitates the introduction of quarterly labour force surveys in EU member states. The current survey, allied with the annual population and migrations estimates, paints a picture of a country with an expanding population of almost 4.13 million people, which is finally looking to inward migration, in place of the well documented horrors of our history of emigration.

Taken regionally, employment grew by 26,600, an increase of 5.7%, in the BMW region and by 66,400, an increase of 4.9%, in the southern and eastern regions in the year to the second quarter of 2005. The bulk of the annual increase in unemployment occurred in the southern and eastern regions with 1,600 extra signing on while a slight fall of 200 was experienced in the BMW region. This is despite the lack of infrastructure, which is crippling that region. No solace in this regard was provided in yesterday's Transport 21 report. Members of the Government parties stated a dual carriageway would be built between Mullingar and Longford within five to six years but there was no sign of it in yesterday's report nor did it refer to the upgrading of the midlands north-south route, the N55. It has been left in abeyance even though it was supposed to be upgraded when Athlone was granted gateway status and Longford hub status in the national spatial strategy. Politicians in the north midlands stated at the time this route would be upgraded but no provision was made yesterday. Similarly, no mention was made of the upgrade of the N63 between Longford and Roscommon, which contains several serious bottlenecks. The Government has no plan to improve the road structure. What has happened regarding a midlands regional airport? I have called for this on a number of occasions in the House and other fora at which I represented the people of the midlands. The Government has again neglected the midlands in this regard.

For the first time, the quarterly national household survey for March to May 2005, highlighted that the number of women in the workforce exceeds the number of women not in employment. The majority of women are in the CSO classification of employed or available for work at 51.4% compared with 35.7% ten years ago. There are many reasons for this change, with the main cause probably being the cost of a family home with the ensuing mortgage costs being taken on by couples to get a foot on the property ladder. However, this change is also driven by highly-qualified women who want to pursue careers outside the home.

I refer again to the urgency for effective child care policies to be implemented. The profile of child care needs has changed beyond recognition and Government response can no longer be put on the long finger as the response to last week's debate shows, even from within the Government's ranks. Throughout Ireland, the traditional working week is close to extinction, with almost half of our workforce working on Sundays and holidays. According to the most recent Central Statistics Office survey, almost 42% of our workforce is scheduled to work on Sundays and bank holidays, of whom, the highest number, 268,000, work in the retail and wholesale trades, including 84,000 in Dublin alone. Health sector workers comprise the second largest group at 186,000 nationally, followed by 116,000 workers in the transport and communications sector, 112,000 in the hotel and tourism trade and 115,000 workers in other service industries.

The extraordinary popularity of Sunday shopping, which makes it one of the busiest days of the week for many retailers, has forced many workers to forego their traditional day off. Other businesses, which were closed on Sundays, such as hairdressers and driving schools have been forced to follow the trend. In the UK, banks open on "bank holidays" but, to date, there is no sign of Irish banks following suit. Consumers are forcing the pace, with a 24/7 working week being their expectation, but pay and conditions for workers do not match the anti-social working requirements. When Sunday trading was first introduced in this country, workers were offered up to three times their regular pay to work such anti-social hours. In many cases this has been reduced to time and a half or even regular pay. Many workers have approached politicians to discuss this trend. The matter has gone from bad to worse and is not helping the overall situation.

Over the past 18 months the economy has been influenced by a flow of immigration, which is difficult to assess in terms of our national output. In the period from March to May 2004, 27,000 people living here had been usually resident in eastern Europe 12 months earlier and just under half of these were from Poland. The quarterly national household survey for 2001-02, showed that 36% of people entering Ireland worked in managerial jobs and 50% of them had a third level education, compared with one third of the Irish population. Some 10% worked in clerical positions, 10% in craft occupations, 24% in the services sector and 20% in semi-skilled or unskilled jobs.

As my colleague, Senator Coghlan, pointed out, things are not all rosy for Polish workers coming to this country expecting to pick and choose jobs but instead finding themselves without a roof over their heads and living on charity. Some 10,000 Poles living in this country are experiencing difficulties. The reports of exploitation, including by Gama, Irish Ferries and others are shocking. At this early stage of immigration to this country, it is important the Government puts together, sooner rather than later, a comprehensive policy to deal with all aspects of the lives of immigrant workers to facilitate integration and pre-empt the possible pitfalls of non-intervention in terms of anti-racism, extension of citizenship, and multiculturalism in education. I am pleased a food store that will accommodate the needs of Polish workers has opened in Longford.

Figures in the quarterly report paint a rosy picture overall but there are some worrying trends. The number of people classified as unemployed has risen, while those employed in both agriculture and manufacturing continues to decline. Fine Gael calls on the Government and the Minister to adopt an action plan for both these sectors of the economy. We must no longer permit the flight from the land to continue unabated. Rather than driving them off the land we must find roles for the agricultural workers to play in the development of rural communities. An example would be the extension of the REP schemes. Realistically, the farmers of this country are the only ones who can be said to be working a 24 hour day.

Another issue of grave concern is the fact that half our workforce does not contribute to a pension scheme. Figures from the Irish Association of Pension Funds show the average contribution to pension schemes is 10%. However, to generate the adequate income in retirement, the figure should be more like 15% to 25%. I am aware that the Government is discussing this at present and I hope the fruit of these discussions will be reflected in the forthcoming budget.