Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire, atá anseo chun díospóireacht a dhéanamh linn ar an ábhar tábhachtach seo. Tá cúrsaí fostaíochta i ngeilleagar na tíre seo fíorthábhachtach dúinn go léir.

The area of job creation and employment is critical to Ireland's recovery. I welcome the Minister to the House for this discussion on the Action Plan for Jobs and the opportunity to review where we are in this regard. An economy can only benefit all of its people if there are people in employment to contribute to the State's coffers and thereby sustain the society. This country has gone through an exceptionally difficult time, with many people losing their jobs. Many families, whether two-job families or one-job families, were affected. Large numbers were left on the live register as a result of economic collapse, particularly in the construction sector and all that went with that.

I acknowledge the work the Government and Minister have done to try to reverse some of these difficulties. Every effort to create additional jobs must be supported by the Government and Opposition. None the less, words are generally of little comfort to those who find themselves in financial distress as a result of having lost a job. While I acknowledge that almost 30,000 people left the live register in the past year, I understand 86,000 people were encouraged to join activation schemes.