Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State. I am disappointed that the Minister, Deputy Bruton, is not here to hear yet another plaintive plea about MBNA like those made by my colleague, Senator White, and Senator Kelly, from the Roscommon-Leitrim constituency. However, I am sure the Minister of State, who is a former Member of this House, will convey our comments to the Minister, as is appropriate.

In the short time available to me I do not wish to repeat what has already been said as both Senator White and Senator Kelly have admirably put the case for continuing to support the workers in MBNA. However, I understand from recent meetings held by the staff that there is an increasing air of pessimism. This is inevitable and is much the same as would happen in any company where there is a threat hanging over the staff's future and nothing conclusive is emerging.

I cannot accuse the Minister because this is a commercial decision but I wish to record my appreciation and that of the workers, many of whom I know personally given that I live only eight miles from Carrick-on-Shannon, for the efforts he has made. First, he travelled to Carrick-on-Shannon to meet the workers. This was a welcome initiative. At least it helped to reassure them at a time of great anxiety in the immediate aftermath of the shock decision. Second, during his recent visit to the United States he took the time to meet senior executives in Bank of America, one of whom is of Irish descent. According to all accounts the Minister received a very positive response. The company reiterated that it was anxious to sell the company as a going concern. The Minister can do little else other than continue to pressurise.

Of course he, like any other Minister, does not need to be reminded that not only is it the Carrick-on-Shannon area that would suffer from the fallout of a closure but it would affect five counties. As all Members from rural areas would testify, the loss of jobs such as happened with the TalkTalk closure in Waterford has a far greater trickle down effect in areas such as Waterford and Leitrim than it would in a major conurbation like Dublin or Cork. The impact of each job loss on the economy can be increased by a factor of three or four. I hope and pray that Bank of America is successful in finding a buyer. Sadly, given that the banking system in Europe is tottering from crisis to crisis and that it would inevitably be a financial institution that would take over this bank, one can only hope there are venture capitalists who might enter the fray and see that Bank of America has an excellent workforce, the fact that it is in profit and that it is dealing primarily in an English speaking environment in the UK and Ireland. One can only hope and pray.

I again applaud the Government's decision to reduce VAT. According to industry sources, approximately 500 new jobs have been created in the restaurant sector in the last two months. That is an indication of the positive impact the VAT reduction has had. Our party leader made it quite clear when the party went into opposition that we would not oppose for the sake of opposition but that we would support the Government in the area of the job initiatives and where it would help the economy, be it local, regional or national. I intend to continue that philosophy as do my colleagues led by our spokesperson in this area, who has eloquently put forward our position in this regard.

I will not nit pick about the motion, particularly about the jobs initiative. It has received a somewhat mixed welcome but it appears to be working. The head of the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association, ISME, Mark Fielding, is one of the world's great PR experts. If he ever left ISME, he could undoubtedly set up a consultancy on how to get one's name in the newspapers and one's voice on the television and radio. Well done to him for that as that is why he is in that position, but I do not necessarily agree with his comment that the jobs initiative is a failure. However, the comments from Youth Work Ireland, that training and education commitments are not sufficient to address the huge numbers of young people looking for work, and the live register report showing that 88,770 people under 25 years of age were signing on in August, show the scale of the problem facing the Government, particularly regarding those under 25 who are out of work.

I welcome the fact that, according to the Irish Examiner, the Government appears confident that it will win approval from the EU-ECB-IMF troika to use money saved in the forthcoming comprehensive spending review for the €1 billion initiative aimed at funding start-up companies and aiding small businesses. Perhaps the Minister will offer his opinion on that. It appears to be an interesting initiative. If €1 billion is set aside for a jobs initiative, it is an extraordinarily impressive amount of money in the current climate. It will be interesting to find out how the Government plans to expand the existing jobs initiatives. Perhaps it would also get rid of red tape.

I am sure that, like me, the Minister was told about, if he did not see, the appearance of the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, on "The Frontline" programme last Monday. To make a political point, I believe she was given a very easy ride when one contrasts the manner in which Fianna Fáil Ministers, who were attempting to do the same and to make the same efforts as the Minister, Deputy Richard Bruton, were attacked to the point of nearly having things thrown at them before and during the election campaign. The Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, got an easy ride. However, while she did not offer any solutions she empathised with all the problems that arise in her Department. At the heart of the jobs initiative lies a bureaucratic tangle between FÁS and her Department. The jobs initiative is too important to those who are out of work for red tape to prevent them from finding meaningful employment.