Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I thank Members on all sides of the House for participating in an interesting and incisive debate. I am the first to acknowledge that just because public representatives, Deputies or Senators, are in opposition they are not devoid of ideas.

Democracy works through the pooling of ideas. If one has an effective Opposition, it should be in a position not only to criticise and call the Government to account but also to bring forward viable and positive proposals to help the generality of the population. I would be the first to acknowledge the comments made on the Opposition side.

Once again, I am somewhat disappointed with the Sinn Féin representative, Senator Doherty. I appreciate that Sinn Féin is the party of protest but to make the speech the Senator made in the House without making even one solid proposal to resolve the issues we have been debating gives an insight into the way the party thinks in terms of its contribution to the democratic institutions of the State. However, Sinn Féin is a party of protest and I suppose one must forgive it.

A point I made was repeated by speakers on all sides of the House, namely, that what this country now needs, apart from specific job creation proposals, is confidence. We must have confidence to proceed towards generating more work to to get those on the live register back into employment. Already consumer confidence has kicked in. I referred to the scrappage scheme as a possible catalyst for change. Having spoken to people in my part of the country and Senators from all sides of the House, I note there has certainly been a positive upturn in business and consumer confidence since the earlier part of the year. The Minister of State has said we are now officially out of recession. This is only a statistical conclusion and we must realise there are still people who are hurting.

I want to nail again the suggestion that the Government does not care. If it means re-emphasising this to the point where it sounds boring, I will do so because it does care about unemployment. One must accept that we are all human and live in our own environments, towns and villages. Not only are people in our own families facing the trauma of unemployment; so, too, are friends and neighbours. It is churlish to suggest that, collectively, the Government has somehow taken its eye off the ball and is looking in directions other than the main focus. The theme running through this debate has been how we can reduce the number of unemployed and get more people back to work. That is why I, with others on the Government side, have outlined several proposals and actions to reduce the number.

I acknowledge that the number on the live register has again shown a monthly increase. Behind the statistics, there are several thousand people who were working last month but who are not working this month. One must reach out to them in the best way possible and understand how difficult it must be for them and their families. However, the number on the live register rises every June, without exception, owing to seasonal factors. I have no doubt this trend will be reversed in the autumn.

A significant number of those who have been on the live register since the beginning of May are people who have been supported in a return to education and training through the back-to-education and training allowance. Recipients of the allowance qualify for the jobseeker's payment during the summer break. We cannot lose sight of the fact that, despite the global downturn which is not confined to this country, we have still managed to retain 1.8 million in the workforce. This point was repeated in the debate. In 1997 there were a little under 1 million in the workforce. The number reached a high of 2.1 million or 2.2 million during the height of the Celtic tiger.

As a result of the downturn and recession in recent years, primarily but not exclusively in the construction sector, and the breakdown in consumer confidence, whereby the savings ratio reached its highest value ever, people just did not want to spend money. They are now beginning to loosen the purse strings. If this confidence continues to ripple through the economy and is coupled with the Government's initiatives, particularly the PRSI initiative, I have no doubt that there will be a significant drop in the number unemployed. I will not be a crystal ball gazer and predict a particular figure, but I have every confidence that the Government initiatives are working their way through the economy and creating and maintaining jobs. I have every confidence also that by the end of the year there will be a significant reduction in the number unemployed.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Áine Brady, for being present for the debate and her very positive and upbeat contribution. I commend the motion to the House.