Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I attended a breakfast this morning at which the former Attorney General, Peter Sutherland, spoke. He had some very interesting things to say about the Government's progress on the economy, which is somewhat underplayed. He concentrated on our image abroad and had a very interesting perspective on that. While it is not something of which we are unaware in this House, Mr. Sutherland pointed to the media's portrayal of an overly negative picture, both here and abroad, of the current situation and the measures being taken by the Government. In particular, he highlighted the fact that 3,000 new companies were created in August. He referred to the fact that the constant fall in unemployment month on month has been attributed to emigration. However, the drop in unemployment is not solely due to emigration and we have the statistics to back up Mr. Sutherland's assertion in that regard. The negative image of Ireland abroad is being hugely emphasised by our own media. This issue has been raised by almost all Senators in this House and now that we have been rejuvenated, we should really try to impress upon the media the importance of reporting positively on the economy and also on the work we do in this House.