Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

This debate is timely, coming as it does during challenging times for economies across the globe. The recent increase in the numbers on the live register is an unwelcome illustration of the challenge that lies ahead in steering the economy through what are undoubtedly challenging times. I want to outline the specific measures that the Government is taking to ensure that this country does not return to the era of long-term unemployment and emigration on a large scale.

As the current live register figures indicate, the economic downturn has already affected many. In bringing forward yesterday's budget by six weeks the Government recognised that further measures will need to be taken to bring stability to the economy and create an environment which will allow those who have lost their jobs to quickly return to the labour market. Against this background, I want to detail the assistance the Government is providing to ensure that those who have lost their jobs receive the right supports to help them return quickly to employment.

In the current economic climate it is important that the Government and its agencies provide proactive support to those affected by job losses. With this in mind the Government is working closely with its employment and training authority, FÁS, to offer a range of services, supports and programmes to help those in our workforce to both return to the labour market and remain in it. For those who have recently become unemployed, FÁS is liaising closely with the Department of Social and Family Affairs in responding to the rising numbers on the live register. This involves more intensive arrangements with the local employment services to increase their capacity to deal with the increasing live register referrals.

It also involves an increase in the number of short, flexible relevant training courses to equip those who have been made redundant with the necessary skills to enable them to obtain alternative employment as soon as possible. This is particularly important at present in the context of the rapid slowdown in the construction sector where FÁS is focusing on the provision of retraining opportunities for redundant construction workers, for alternative and emerging areas, such as sustainable and environmental technologies. I want to emphasise that with regard to apprentices in the crafts area of construction, in particular, FÁS has been adapting a new model whereby they can come off training, while allowing them to continue with their apprenticeships. We want to ensure they can complete their training and leave with certification. In the context of yesterday's budget, provision was made for that area in terms of ring-fencing for apprenticeships in the craft areas of construction.

The measures taken by FÁS to assist redundant workers are, in co-ordination with our enterprise agencies, tailored specifically to urgently address the education and skills needs of individuals affected by any company contraction or closure. There are those who, for a variety of reasons, have, over time, become distanced from the labour market. That is why programmes such as the community employment scheme are so important in offering a roadmap back to work, through the provision of specific active schemes within local communities that break the cycle of long-term inactivity and instead offer individuals on a fixed-term basis the chance to reintegrate into a daily working regime. These programmes also help in the development of both technical and personal skills. There are almost 22,500 people on the community employment scheme and it is worth pointing out that the Government is investing €377 million this year to maintain overall numbers at this level while at the same time operating a degree of flexibility in order to both maximise the number of those successfully progressing to the labour market and support the work being carried out in local communities.

The importance of upskilling in the context of the economy's competitiveness cannot be overstated. The skills of our workforce will need to be able to adapt quickly to meet the challenges posed by a rapidly shifting global economic market.

The participation of ever greater numbers of our population in lifelong learning is essential to ensuring that this country's economy remains adaptable against the background of the type of economic challenges that we face today. Again, when we look at what has happened in the context of the financial credit crisis and volatility on the stock markets, these are indications of the level of uncertainty that exists. This phenomenon could continue for some time in terms of the lack of credit available for companies and small investors. It can put enormous pressures on the economy. It is important therefore that we continually emphasise the need for upskilling and training. Life-long learning is part and parcel of that and I encourage people, regardless of where they are on the educational ladder, to continue to pursue it. Again, this is something that we have been encouraging over many years.

Through individually tailored training programmes run both by FÁS and Skillnets, the Government is demonstrating its commitment to life-long learning for our workforce. We must all embrace this aspiration, individuals and social partners alike, if this country is to successfully meet the economic challenges of the future.

I indicated earlier the role played by our enterprise agencies, including Enterprise Ireland and the county enterprise boards, alongside FÁS, in the event of company contractions or closures. The continued development of our enterprise sector is, even in unpredictable economic times such as these, vital for fostering the growth of Irish companies and positioning them to compete strongly in global markets.

The development of Irish-owned companies has been pivotal to the economic growth and prosperity that this country has enjoyed over the last decade. As the Tánaiste indicated in the Dáil last week, over 250,000 small businesses operate in our economy employing approximately 800,000 people. There is little doubt that Ireland's future wealth will depend to a significant extent on the further development of these enterprises. Productive, sustainable and export driven businesses that develop and embrace cutting-edge technologies within a supportive operating environment are essential for further business growth, whether on a local or national scale.

I am confident, but certainly not complacent, that the measures taken by this Government on research and development and business regulation as well as our highly supportive tax regime will encourage the emergence of new business creations and facilitate long-term business survival. Certainly, the figures in the 2007 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report for Ireland, of 2,700 individuals setting up a new business each month, are encouraging.

Investment into Ireland is also central to our economy's continued development. We have a light regulatory system and supportive tax regime and that was emphasised by the Minister for Finance in his budget speech yesterday. He outlined what we are doing in the context of the current tax regime. He also placed a strong emphasis on the commitment to ensure that corporation tax will not go above 12.5% in the lifetime of this Government. We should speak about that commitment because, globally, our competitors often try to undermine the advantages we have in terms of a highly educated, mobile and skilled workforce. Our corporation tax regime is a central plank to our policy in terms of attracting inward investment. It is important Senators highlight that whenever they get the opportunity to do so. With more than 1,000 operating companies and 136,000 people employed in the foreign direct investment sector, we have an excellent record of attracting quality investment into this country compared to other developed nations.

Through the work of our inward investment agency, the IDA, Ireland is winning high-value foreign direct investment in new cutting-edge business areas, including the Internet and media sectors. The establishment of Amazon, eBay and Yahoo in Ireland are good examples of recent investments and the announcement earlier this month by the social networking site, Facebook, that it is to establish its headquarters in Dublin continues this encouraging trend.

In the first half of 2008, IDA Ireland announced 22 investments with a capital investment of €916 million and a potential to create approximately 1,600 jobs. This compares very favourably with similar figures for 2007 which, in itself, included the winning of more than 100 new investments. I am confident that Ireland is well-positioned to continue to secure leading new investment projects over the medium term.

I am also confident that in keeping a collective focus on upskilling and lifelong learning and the continuing development of Ireland into a genuine knowledge economy, we can continue to look forward to similar investments into this country such as those made in the last year by Google and Glaxosmithkline. However, it will be important to concentrate not only on the number of jobs created by inward investment into this country but also on the quality and the scope of the employment created and, in particular, its potential for adaptation to changing market conditions and long lasting growth.

We have good reason to be optimistic despite the current economic turbulence and the slowdown caused by a number of factors, including, notably, the adjustment in the construction sector and the deterioration in the international environment. True enough, the current slowdown represents the severest of challenges but we have faced and overcome challenges of this nature before. The key difference now is that we approach this current turbulence from a stronger economic position that has been forged on a more focused emphasis on knowledge and expertise. I am, therefore, confident that in this country, the right policies and conditions are in place to allow us to ride out the current storm and return to sustainable economic and employment growth levels in the medium term.

As the Minister for Finance said in his budget speech yesterday, we face challenging times internationally and we also face challenging times domestically due to the slowdown in the construction industry. Those two issues have put huge pressures on the public finances. The first measures were taken in July when we announced cuts, or savings, of €400 million and €1 billion in 2009.