Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, to the House. I am sorry my friend, Senator Boyle, is leaving because he is right. We can throw out figures about jobs and proposals. The reality is that up to 2008 we enjoyed a period of increasing competitiveness. Why then, between 2001 and 2008, were we 20% above the eurozone average in our consumer prices? Were our costs too high, affecting labour costs? I agree with Senator Ryan. I do not believe we should look at the minimum wage and cut it. The people who are on the minimum wage are on the breadline as it is. They are struggling.

Critical to our recovery as a nation is that we restore our competitiveness. That cannot be a slogan or a catchcall. It must be implemented by Government now rather than later. In requiring action, we need to look at our cost base. I love phraseology such as Senator Boyle mentioned - "to do business" or being "open to business". If, as a country, we are serious about being open for business, about wanting to attract foreign direct investment and using Ireland as a benchmark or model for good employment, we need to see real action. What happened in the aviation industry this week does not help. The Government's collapse of social partnership before the budget also does not help. I repeat what I have said previously and again this morning on the Order of Business, never in the history of the State has social partnership been needed more. However, social partnership must also have a new pillar. It must include Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas who, in the case of the Opposition and Seanad Éireann, have been sidelined. I appeal to union leaders and the Government to sit down again to talks and to work together to protect, retain and create jobs.

We need a vision and leadership. People speak about hope but the Tánaiste's remarks, some of which I agree with, contained little vision. Jobs and unemployment are the greatest source of worry for thousands of couples and individuals in our society today. As Senator Cannon correctly said, people who are worried about the future or who are out of work are looking for hope and inspiration. Senator Callely's remarks about Senator Cannon were disingenuous. He should apologise to Senator Cannon for them. Senator Cannon, in a fine address, painted a clear, cogent picture of the reality in Ireland today. He is not tainted by being a member of the Government or with blinkered vision. He tells it as it is, and I commend him for that. He is right. Our current position is the consequence of Government policy and inaction. It would suit Members on the opposite side of the House, who are not present, to forget about the past and air-brush it, much as they did for a long time with Charles Haughey. Fianna Fáil is good at air-brushing when it suits. Its policies have put us in this mess, and we must learn from that. Any good business carries out spot analyses. That is what the Government must do.

I welcome Senator Boyle's comments about the Green Party input into Government and the creation of 15,000 new jobs in the green economy. However, it is time the Green Party stopped being the mudguard or the stabilisers on the Government bicycle and became the saddle or gears. It should drive the Government rather than be the back seat passenger.

I welcome the reduction in prices. Unfortunately, however, some of the Government controlled or regulated prices remain high. I refer to electricity prices, road tolls, bus and train fares and other Government charges. What has the Government said to the regulators and semi-State bodies about reducing costs and fares for the taxpayer? Senator Cannon correctly said that protection and retention of jobs must be the priority.

Senator Ryan spoke about Fingal County Council. My local authority in Cork city froze the commercial rate. What can local authorities do now? The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, and the Minister for Transport, Deputy Dempsey, say that as Fine Gael or the Labour Party have control of local authorities, they can do as they wish. They cannot. The Government allocates a certain amount of money to local authorities but that funding has been cut. When charges are frozen and there is a reduction in the money to provide a service, what will happen? There will be a reduction in services for people. There is a need to re-examine the model of funding for local authorities and how the authorities can generate income.

Many of my friends are involved in small and medium enterprises. They seek working capital but in many cases they receive little or no help from the banks and, in some cases, the Revenue Commissioners. The banks must start assisting job creation and retention. In every city and town one will see properties for sale, to let or lying idle. Retailers are in serious trouble. The property bubble is over. Exports were replaced as the key growth promoter by the twin engines of the construction industry and consumer spending, which are now at an end. I agree with Senator Boyle that we can never return to a situation where the construction industry is the only saving grace in the economy or where there is a property bubble in the housing sector. That was a false situation and has led us to the current position.

I hope there will be a focus on job creation, that there will be a reduction in the cost of energy and that local authorities will be assisted, given that many of them have frozen or reduced commercial rates. We need an innovative jobs programme. We have a great, extraordinarily well educated, young workforce. Thankfully, we have invested in research and development, and I commend the Government to an extent in this regard. I agree with what the Tánaiste said about that. We have done many things that are right but I wonder if we have learned from the bad decisions, so we can move forward to create employment. That is the task.

Fine Gael has put forward, in its NewERA document, an innovative policy to create employment. It has been well received by people such as the economist, Mr. Jim Power. It is time the Government put forward a plan for job creation, which has not yet happened. I hope there will also be a renewal of social partnership.