Mary White (Fianna Fail)

I compliment Senator Maurice Cummins on the empathy he showed this morning based on his own experience of being unemployed. I mentioned previously on numerous occasions the transformation in people that we saw when we started Lir Chocolates in East Wall during the previous recession. Generally speaking a person who is unemployed has no self confidence. It is not just about the money. It is about the social intercourse. They have somewhere to go every day and other people to talk to. It is not self praise but one of the greatest contributions people can make is to create employment. A total of 250 people are employed in Lir Chocolates in Navan today. They cannot keep up with business. We started up during the previous recession. Even in the middle of a recession there are opportunities if one applies one's mind to it.