Pearse Doherty (Sinn Fein)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir Norris as ucht a chuid ama a roinnt liom. While I do not intend to support the Fine Gael motion this evening, I welcome the focus of the debate it has initiated as it is important to make progress in finding solutions. Last week, Sinn Féin was the first party to publish a job creation strategy. We announced 80 proposals that would have a direct impact on the jobs crisis in 2009, at a cost of just over €2 billion. One of the reasons I am not supporting Fine Gael's proposals is that they are too closely aligned to Fianna Fáil's current policies. Now that Senator Cannon has joined Fine Gael, perhaps it intends to promote the privatisation agenda in a more aggressive manner. It needs to learn from the mistakes of the past. Privatisation has never helped this country and will not help us in the current economic climate. It makes absolutely no sense to advocate the sale of strategically important State companies such as Bord Gáis Éireann, ESB International and Aer Rianta, all of which are making profits for this State. While such proposals are reckless in the extreme, I welcome other aspects of the Fine Gael document, such as those relating to next generation broadband and the green economy. When it launched this policy document a week ago, Fine Gael placed particular focus on such investment. This document has been proposed as a means of fostering job creation. The reality is that 184,000 people in this State have lost their jobs over the past 12 months. It is estimated that a further 100,000 people will lose their jobs by the end of this year. Although Fine Gael's proposal involves an investment of €18 billion over three years, the only jobs it would create would be the directors' positions in the new quangos.