Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Seanad Éireann" and substitute the following:

"endorses the National Recovery Plan as a strategy for economic recovery with the aim of restoring stability to the public finances, improving Ireland's cost competitiveness, stimulating enterprise growth and job creation. And in particular:

supports the competitiveness and growth initiatives outlined in the National Recovery Plan designed to spur further improvements in competitiveness across all sectors of the economy, including measures to cut costs in energy, waste and transport, professional fees, property and labour;

welcomes the specific sectoral policies to foster export growth and a recovery of domestic demand;

endorses the commitment to maintaining an overall competitive tax regime and in particular to maintaining the 12.5% corporation tax rate, the cornerstone of Irish industrial policy;

welcomes the investment of €2.2 billion capital over the four years of the plan for the enterprise agencies which will enable them to create jobs across the economy through:

- supporting indigenous firms to increase exports,

- winning new foreign investment, and

- targeting and supporting research, development and innovation in companies to boost productivity, exports, growth and jobs;

recognises the measures taken to ensure the continued operation of a sustainable banking sector as a provider of credit to viable enterprises in the State;

notes that our EU and international partners, including the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund, have acknowledged that the plan provides the correct basis for supporting economic recovery;

recognises that the measures outlined in the plan will support the achievement of the targets in the Government's integrated trade, tourism and investment strategy, Trading and Investing in a Smart Economy, including the target to create 300,000 new jobs;

and commends the National Recovery Plan as a pragmatic and achievable road map for a return to sustainable growth in the Irish economy.".

I join others in welcoming the Minister of State, Deputy Kelleher, to the House. I thank the Labour Party for making Private Members' time available to enable us discuss issues in regard to job creation and employment. I will begin by way of rebuttal to comments made by Senator Bacik. It is not we who do not wish to talk about some of the many positives that have been achieved from time to time or some of the many initiatives that have been taken by the Government throughout the various Departments related to work activation and encouraging employment, notwithstanding these tremendous difficult times. As an Irish citizen rather than a Fianna Fáil Member of the House, I would welcome if people were somewhat more responsible in their commentary. While it is certainly legitimate in this day and age to play the ball and it may even be legitimate to play the man, when one hears Deputy Burton at the weekend describing the country as banjaxed, one wonders why she has to take a pickaxe to the pitch altogether.