Aidan Davitt (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a dhéanamh leis an Aire on her new appointment. No doubt Deputy Mitchell O'Connor will certainly bring great enthusiasm to her new post.

I listened intently to the Minister's forecasts - 200,000 jobs by 2020 and 135,000 of these will be outside of Dublin.This is starting to sound like a sketch from Alice in Wonderland. The new quote of 200,000 jobs would be welcome and we would be delighted to see them. We could certainly look at that figure. One would have to agree that the Mad Hatter came up with the figure of 135,000 jobs outside of Dublin, 68% of new jobs outside Dublin and the current figure being 50%. I cannot see the figures adding up. I wish the Minister well with all the jobs. As she said there has been a great improvement in recent years.

The document goes on to deal with IDA site visits. It is easy to see that the jobs follow the site visits. Some 50% of all site visits were in Dublin and 48% of IDA jobs were created in Dublin. It is no coincidence that the unemployment blackspots of the north east, north west and midlands had an average of 2.5% each of these site visits. The IDA is doing a great job but there will have to be a focus outside the M50. Our local IDA park in Mullingar has one business which was relocated from Mullingar after lengthy negotiations by my fellow Oireachtas Member, Deputy Robert Troy. The estate is a place the IDA forgot about, 45 minutes from the M50 waiting for use.

Rural Ireland has been strangled to death following the closure of Garda stations, Army barracks, schools and the abolition of town councils. These were all Government-led. The services fled - banks, post offices, shops and retail. We need to lead from the front and give these country communities hope.

Skilled manufacturers and tradespeople need support with the apprenticeship model. It is unfair that they have to suffer the loss of their trainee while at college and also expect them to contribute €16,000 over the four years to fund the programme. This is the reason the number of apprenticeships is at an all time low of 8,000, down from a peak of 30,000. This is an issue on which the Minister could focus.

Another subject glossed over today by the Minister in her contribution was that of wage discrimination. When we come into this world and when we leave it, we are in the hands of nurses. Teachers are the people who model us, encourage us and introduce us to the world of learning during our formative years. The Garda and Defence Forces protect us and put their lives on the line every day so we can have a normal functioning society. The wage discrimination that the Government forced on gardaí, nurses, teachers and soldiers starting at €22,000 to €25,000 gross is degrading. If the Taoiseach wants to keep the recovery going, he should start with those on whom we are so dependent. None of those starter public servants is on a living wage. This has become a divisive issue in their workplaces. When formulating her document I ask the Minister to look at these particular areas, and if there is anything I can assist with, I would be happy to oblige. I appreciate her coming here today and offering an open ear.