Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

I agree with all of what Senator Glynn said, but if the implementation of the document A Vision for Change was carried out to the fullest extent we would not have the problems he has outlined.

Yesterday I spoke about the distress of the many newly unemployed people who have joined the dole queues and the way they are being treated. Today I would like to sound a bit more positive. I ask the Leader to allow time for a debate on re-employment, by which I mean the retraining and skills improvement of the many thousands of people who have joined the dole queues over the last year or two. We saw the exciting initiative of the ESB whereby it is to employ 400 electrical apprentices who are mid-way through their apprenticeships. There are another 400 who will not be looked after in that regard. I call on the State agencies to step in and create employment for those apprentices. There are thousands of skilled construction workers - plasterers, blocklayers, carpenters and so on - who are unemployed and are in much distress as they have been used to working all their lives and now they cannot find work anywhere. I ask that State agencies such as FÁS and the VECs engage with the young apprentices and find new ways in which they can be employed.

There are thousands on the waiting lists for local authority housing but some houses are boarded up because the local authorities do not have the staff to refurbish these houses due to the recruitment embargo. Surely we can now start thinking outside the box and try to employ these young apprentices and construction workers to refurbish these houses. There are also deficits in community facilities. Classes are in prefabs in schools around the country. Now is the time to start thinking of new ways to create employment in all these areas in our communities. There are thousands of people who want to work. A debate in this House would be one good way to bring new ideas together to give these people new hope. As politicians we should lead the way in this regard. I ask the Leader to allow time for a debate on re-employment, with a specific focus on the thousands of constructions workers who find themselves in the dole queues.