Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I support the call by Senator Barrett for a full debate after Christmas with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Leo Varadkar, on the issue of public transport. The decline in usage to which the Senator referred is quite alarming. We need to debate both whether the taxpayer is getting good value for money and the overall cost to the taxpayer of the system as it is structured.

The month of December will go down in history as a very significant one for our country. In one week's time the troika will exit but the endorsement of Ireland as the premier business location by Forbes magazine is particularly significant. When our Taoiseach came to office he said he wanted to make this country the best small country in which to do business and we are ahead of schedule in this regard. Despite all our difficulties we have maintained a very pro-business approach which is paying off. The number of people at work has increased by 58,000 compared with when the Government came into office. For the first time in many years there has been a drop in the unemployment level to 12.5%. In my own county of Galway in the past year the number on the live register dropped by 6% and in my own town of Ballinasloe the number dropped by 7%, but the overall numbers are still unacceptably high. We must be impatient to accelerate the rate of job creation throughout all sectors of the economy.