Dan Boyle (Green Party)

It is somewhat fatuous to talk about exact numbers of jobs. However, the reality is the direction in which employment policies are going. If I may, I shall encapsulate that in terms of how we can do the little things, which is something I heard in Senator Ryan's contribution. This applies even in areas such as public procurement. The idea of green procurement, which is in the renewed programme for Government, is that if we buy smartly, locally and using the maximum number of inputs that are created and used in this country, we will maximise employment potential. The Government is in the best position to do that, as are local government and State agencies. Ultimately, it is about how we use whatever spending power we have. It is a much diminished spending power so we must ensure we use it as wisely as possible to maximise the employment potential I believe exists in this country. The policies that are in place are the policies to tackle. When levels of unemployment peak this year we will manage to achieve more sustainable levels of employment in the immediate future.