Feargal Quinn (Independent)

The announcement today of 1,000 new jobs in the retail sector this year is very welcome. We talked about good news yesterday. Of particular interest is that the retailers are providing 150 places free of charge for training for these jobs. I mention this because it is an example of a section of the community doing something rather than asking the Government to intervene. I have spoken previously about a young woman who was unable to find employment in the west after qualifying as a solicitor. She offered her services for free and after several weeks or months became so indispensable to her employer that she was taken on as a full-time member of staff. A question that appears to be asked too often - there are times when we have to do so ourselves - is, "Why does the Government not do something?" I would love to encourage industries and individuals to take the initiative themselves on occasion.

I acknowledge I have a vested interest when I say that even in Europe the potential for retailing is not recognised. The retail sector employs 31 million people throughout Europe, but it is always regarded by decision makers as secondary to industry. The same applies in Ireland. We have to encourage retailing by ensuring there are no restrictions.

In regard to Senator Bradford's comments on the carbon tax, the French Government decided to park such a tax because it would make their industries and businesses uncompetitive. It announced that it would not introduce it until it was applied on a Europe-wide basis because it recognised the country had to be competitive if it was to succeed in creating jobs. There is an onus on us to avoid steps which would cause us to be uncompetitive, whether in retailing or industry.