Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State and I welcome the motion. It is only fair to point out that were it not for the fact this side of the House provided two speakers in succession at 6.20 p.m., this debate would have collapsed. This shows what the Government thinks of the unemployed and unemployment in its dealings in this and the other House. While we could have played a cynical game and not provided a second speaker at that time, we did not do so.

I come from Waterford city and am one of those in that city who are becoming despondent with the number of job losses we have witnessed. Only today, Bausch & Lomb, which is still a wonderful company, thank God, has let go another 120 people in addition to those let go earlier this year. Last week, ABB Transformers let go 178 people and, prior to that, our flagship industry, Waterford Crystal, let go over 600 people. What policies has the Government implemented to protect the jobs of the people in these industries, in particular in Waterford Crystal? There was no effort to purchase the brand name and protect manufacturing of this flagship industry in Waterford. There was no effort to protect the showroom which attracted over 300,000 visitors to Waterford and the south east, and which gave so much employment in the tourism area, including in hotels and many other areas of the hospitality industry. Cruise ships came to Waterford but many of them have cancelled since the closure of Waterford Crystal's showroom and the loss of the expertise that people came to see.

This is what is happening in Waterford but the Government is still refusing to upgrade Waterford Institute of Technology to university status, something that all the economic commentators in the region state would be the catalyst to create more jobs within the region. The Government is stumbling from report to report, saying "we will, we won't" in regard to having a university in Waterford. The day before the last general election, a letter from the former Taoiseach was plastered over the local newspapers stating "we will upgrade Waterford Institute of Technology to university status". Where has the promise gone? A new Minister, another report, more disappointment for the people of Waterford and the south-east region and thousands of jobs gone in the meantime - that is the legacy of this Government and the last Government. This Government is probably the worst in the history of the State, although it would be run close by the previous Government, led by the last Taoiseach and the then Minister for Finance, now the Taoiseach.

The limited job proposals that have come out in drip form in the past month are a paltry response to the unemployment we face. We have an economic and unemployment crisis yet we have a response from the Government that might provide some part-time jobs and 2,500 extra places in education. That is typical of the response. Last week, the Minister for Finance said we "now" have a serious situation with unemployment. Today, we have 413,000 people on the dole queues. That is an indictment of the Government and it is absolutely disgraceful. As someone who spent time in the dole queue at one stage I fully understand how each of these people feels at present and it not only affects these people but their families are affected as well. However, the Government seems to be in slumber, waking up like Rip Van Winkle and taking the view that only now is there a crisis. There has been no response.

Fine Gael has advocated measures for more than one year, including proposed job creation and protection packages such as PRSI breaks for new employees. However, there has been no response. This idea would protect in some way some of the employees who have been let go in recent months. We were asked to produce ideas on this side of the House and we have done so, but they were accepted only months afterwards by which time the damage was done, a greater number of people were in the dole queues and more families were hit by unemployment. Some people concerned about educating their children and sending them to college no longer have that option. People are concerned about such issues when they are unemployed. In addition they are concerned about how to pay the mortgage and the loans for the car and whatever else.

I could say a good deal more on the subject because I was unemployed at one time and only one who has been unemployed at some time can understand the depth of feeling of those on the dole, or those who suddenly find out they have no job, such as the Bausch & Lomb workers this morning. It is devastating and such people seem to be treated as a number. However, they are people with feelings, families and commitments, and we should treat them as such and do a great deal more than we are doing at present.