Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

I am sure everyone in the House will join me in wishing the Taoiseach well later on today in his historic address to the joint session of the US Congress. I hope he will use the occasion to raise awareness of Ireland and I hope he raises the plight of the undocumented Irish during his address. I also hope he extends an invite to the average American to visit these shores. We had a wonderful debate in the House last week on tourism and it is clear this is one area than can help create more jobs for the Irish economy. Next week the Taoiseach will meet the First Minister in the North at the opening of the new Battle of the Boyne commemoration site in Oldbridge, County Meath. That facility is expected to lead to about 100,000 people visiting County Meath every year. Initiatives such as this can help to counter the bad news emanating from the Irish economy.

This morning we saw the ESRI report which says consumer confidence is at its lowest level ever. Nine out of ten people expect unemployment to increase in the next year, so it is issues such as tourism investment that can help counter the bad news. However, it is time we put in place a strategy for preparing for further rises in unemployment. In particular, we need to ensure there is investment in adult education so that people can retrain, upskill themselves and take advantage of other opportunities in the jobs market.