Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I would like to thank Senators and my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Michael Ahern, for their contributions today. It is an important debate, not least because population and migration are not issues that we consider every day. These CSO figures show Ireland at a turning point and give us cause to reflect as a society on how we should build a sustainable future for both citizens and business.

The transformation of our economy that we have seen in these CSO figures shows that we have provided all our citizens with the opportunity to live and work here — emigration is, thankfully, no longer a necessity. Growth and prosperity have provided the country with a newfound confidence, while enterprise has the capacity to invest for the future and the confidence to be less risk-averse.

The latest 12-month employment numbers show that in the year to May, the economy created a further 93,000 jobs. This is the highest annual growth rate in five years, while unemployment is less than half the EU average. Long-term unemployment has been reduced by 70%. Cautious management of success has and will sustain our ability to make sustainable growth achievable.

The long stretch of prosperity has helped society. Life chances have consistently improved as growth has opened more varied opportunities for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in many different aspects of the economy. The population figures and projections for the next 15 years also give us cause to reflect on the needs of our economy into the future.

Yesterday, the Government launched a major transport infrastructure plan. Modern economies depend on efficient transport networks to reinforce competitiveness. The level of infrastructure investment helps drive economic and enterprise performance and consolidates our attractiveness as an investment location. The roads programme announced yesterday will have the flexibility to address the access requirements of major new industrial enterprises as well as meeting transport needs around the country. I particularly welcome the announcement to proceed with the western rail corridor, which will meet the needs of communities from Ennis to Claremorris.

Sometimes, it is important to pause for a moment to reflect on what one is doing correctly. We can be justly proud of the achievements over the past decade. There is no greater indicator of success than being a sought-after location in which to work and live. The total migration flow to Ireland in the 12 months to April 2005 is estimated at 70,000 — the highest figure on record since migration estimates began in 1987. As a corollary, emigration is at it lowest since the series began.

The challenge is one of preparing now for the prosperity of the next generation and to manage the transformation of our economy through that process. This demands hard choices as we must, at the same time, seek to further improve the life chances for all our citizens, not just those in employment. From the Government's perspective, a successful society needs a dynamic economy, which constantly responds to the evolving demands of international competitiveness. We have proved that we can meet this challenge.

We would do well to remember that 80% of the current workforce will be in employment in 12 years' time, which is an enormous figure. It is clear that a large portion of these people will not be in their current employment, therefore there is a continuing need for people to upskill and prepare themselves for different kinds of employment.

I will refer briefly to points made by various Senators. Senator Coghlan referred to the need to maintain a strong manufacturing base. I can assure him that this is a key priority for my Department. Some low-skill traditional manufacturing is under threat and there have been considerable job losses in this area. However, we have proved our capacity to upskill our workforce and participate at far higher levels in manufacturing than before. It requires a capacity to innovate, retrain and be open to new challenges, which, fortunately, we have shown ourselves to be more than willing to do. We have a vibrant export sector which is, to a considerable extent, dependent on the activities of the foreign direct investment companies. We will continue to develop that sector.

I welcome Senator Leyden's lengthy comments on the transport plan. We have a good deal of catching up to do in this area and will need to frontload investment across a range of infrastructural services, particularly transport. I also welcome yesterday's announcement by various Ministers. We have gradually gained the confidence to believe not only that we have the capacity to pay for the infrastructure but to build on it and create a more successful economy and country.

Senator Bannon referred, among other points, to the need for greater participation in the pension scheme, with which I strongly agree because participation is worryingly low. I welcome the proposals from the Minister for Social and Family Affairs to develop this in the coming months but we must do considerably more.

Senator Hanafin mentioned various indices, apart from the quarterly household survey, which show Ireland performing well. I was surprised when I began to attend European Council meetings to discover the extent to which Ireland's success is admired by most of our European counterparts, particularly by the representatives of the accession countries.

Some of the traditionally strong European economies are experiencing grave difficulty in regard to unemployment and are examining closely the background to our success. I will do my best not to enter the debate which flowed back and forth between Senators Ryan and Bannon on one side and Senators Mansergh and Leyden on the other about the genesis of our success.

Senator Paddy Burke raised the issue of the performance of the BMW region. He assumed that the figure of 26,000 applied over several years, whereas Senator Mansergh may be correct in saying that it applied to only one year up to the end of last May. A figure of 26,000 out of 93,000 shows that the region is performing a little above its population base when compared across the economy, which is an extraordinary achievement.

Like many Members of both Houses, Senator Paddy Burke thinks that Clare is in the BMW region. It is not, for a variety of reasons.