Rónán Mullen (Independent)

Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire. Is ábhar an-tábhachtach é seo, go háirithe i gcomhthéacs na géarchéime eacnamaíochta.

The economy has entered the worst recession in 80 years, sparked by the global credit crunch and collapse of the Irish property bubble. The scale of the economic collapse is staggering. In 2006, at the height of the boom, the private sector was a net borrower to the tune of €10 billion. In 2009 it will be a net saver of €20 billion. This represents a withdrawal of €30 billion from the economy annually because of reduced spending on housing and consumer goods and reduced capital investment by businesses.

This massive withdrawal of capital contributed to a major growth in unemployment, with the rate of unemployment doubling from 5.9% in June 2008 to 11.9% in June 2009. It now stands at 12.9%. According to the Central Statistics Office, there are 422,500 people signing on the live register. The people concerned are not mere statistics. Each person is an individual human being, faced with a grim Christmas, the real fear of his or her home being repossessed and concerns about medical and food bills.

The slight drop in the number signing on is to be welcomed, but all that means is that we have, it is to be hoped, hit the bottom of the cycle. The figures do not, however, mean that we have yet turned a corner, nor will we without vigorous and decisive action by the Government. Clear and decisive leadership is needed. The simple fact is that we are not just facing a major economic crisis but also a human tragedy if we do not address the issue of unemployment urgently and, in particular, if we do not put in place a major lifelong education programme to ensure we allow people to develop and use their God-given talents for their own benefit and that of their community and country.

I have previously spoken on the impact of the collapse in the construction sector on unemployment, particularly in rural areas, and the need to retrain young people who left school early, drawn by the lure of high wages in the construction sector, and are now left with no jobs or saleable skills.