Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We need an economic debate in the House with the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton. Last Sunday's The Sunday Business Postcarried a major feature on a financier speaking in this country at the weekend on the reason investors will not invest in this country. He gave two major reasons, one is because of our high level of debt-to-GDP ratio and the second one is because we are not able to keep talented youth in this country. He said that while we lose our youth we lose hope and DNA material we need for the future.
Let us contrast that with the fact that our growth is meant to be the highest in the eurozone this year. It reminds me of when a number of years ago we were held up as being top of the class in Europe and then we found that our foundation was bottomless. Something is not hanging together. We are told things are improving - I want them to improve - yet it is very clear from the mood of the people, not least on water because as we know that is about much more than water, that growth is not being felt on the ground by people and they are hurting too much. I would like the Minister to inform us who is investing in Ireland, how strong is our growth, how strong are the fundamentals underpinning the growth, what the threats are to it and what hope we an give the nation.

This must be balanced against the type of serious report in last Sunday's edition of The Sunday Business Postwhich stated the reasons investors are not confident to invest in this country. I ask for a serious debate on that issue.