Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

Yesterday I raised the issue of the manufacturing industry in Ireland. I emphasise again the unemployment figures, which are rising steadily by the day, the week and the month. Since last month an extra 15,800 people have joined the live register. That is not just a statistic. Behind every one of these numbers there are families, adults and children, who are very concerned about their future.

As a Parliament, we cannot ignore or neglect reality. Christmas is coming and there are mortgages to be paid, children to be sent to school and health to be looked after. In Waterford alone over recent years, Waterford Crystal has lost 3,000 jobs. It has been a flagship company for Waterford and Ireland — I raised this matter on a number of occasions here. Honeywell, a well established manufacturing industry in Waterford, will lose more than 200 jobs. These are good jobs that have gone down the drain. The Government has no strategy or plan to address the rapidly accelerating problem of unemployment. We have not heard any plans for upskilling, reskilling or alternative employment. If we do not wake up, address this quickly and look for plans and solutions, we will be in serious trouble.

The indigenous industry of agriculture, something this country prided itself on, is being ignored. Young farmers are finding it increasingly difficult to make a viable, sustainable living from the land. I ask for a debate on the Government's plans to support agriculture and farming. The recent budget will adversely affect farming. It will drive people off the land because farming is not viable and if there is no viability there is no future. That is message I hear from Government and I would like to hear otherwise.