Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)

It is welcome that this week has started on a very positive note. I join my colleagues in welcoming the jobs initiative announced yesterday. I hope 13 February will be remembered as the day on which we started a real fight-back in this country to create some badly needed jobs. I support the call made for a full debate in the House on the jobs plan. It would be appropriate for all those Members who contributed to the very worthwhile debate some weeks ago to have an opportunity to feed into the plan and discuss some of the very good ideas presented in the House but left out of the plan. I hope we will have another opportunity to try to have them included.

The plan is a very positive document which contains some innovative ideas. The idea of linking and working with the very large Irish community abroad is certainly worth pursuing. I also welcome the idea of a one-stop-shop. I hope the local authorities which are working with Enterprise Ireland will provide the service that will help to generate many new small businesses. However, previous plans had their shortcomings.