The following Dáil speech was given by Mary White T.D. on Wednesday, February 24th, during a Private Member’s debate on unemployment:

Deputy Mary Alexandra White: I am delighted to speak on this Private Members’ motion. We on this side of the House have made difficult decisions in the budgets to try to stabilise the economy and the public finances. There have been difficult decisions made regarding the reform of the regulatory authorities for the banks. I am glad to welcome the appointment of Professor Patrick Honohan, which the Green Party was very keen to see happen. He will be a good man in the position. The next number of weeks and months will be a defining moment in how we look at our economy regarding how the banks perform.

Employment, as all parties in the House have said, is central to the revival of our economy. That is why it is important that we have a sufficient number of training places and support for people returning to education. Let us hear the figures clearly. Some 330,000 places have been provided for job training. We are often accused of not doing enough for job training, but that is the figure. Let us put it on the record. The Opposition’s claim that there is no job strategy is a lame one because there is a strategy and it is working.

Another aspect of the economic revival is the green and digital economy—–

Deputy Simon Coveney:    The Deputy is accepting we will lose 70,000 jobs this year. That is some jobs strategy.

Deputy Mary Alexandra White:    Some protection from the Chair might be helpful.

An Ceann Comhairle:    Yes.

Deputy Mary Alexandra White:    The work done by the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, in this regard is to be commended. The future of our economy is green. Business and many members of the public know that and the Government is acting on it in the context of the digital, smart and green economy. The supports for renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste management, water services and particularly investment in water services infrastructure has never been greater than under the
Minister, Deputy John Gormley.
Some 15,000 green jobs have been created over the past two and a half years.

Deputy Simon Coveney:    They are not green jobs.

Deputy Mary Alexandra White:    There will be more this year, with the €130 million retrofit scheme, which will provide local employment throughout the country. The digital economy, which is also being developed by the Minister, Deputy Ryan, sees a fusion of the smart economy technologies, low carbon innovation and development in the ICT market. The potential for jobs is significant. Some 30,000 will be created in this sector in the next five to ten years. Knowledge-based businesses are still moving to Ireland and providing new jobs here. We are providing supports to facilitate that. These are the facts.

We need to develop other indigenous sectors, as well as the green economy, such as tourism, the economic spin-off from our culture and new opportunities for Irish agriculture in terms of anaerobic digestion and biomass. We all want to make sure that, throughout the country, we are creating jobs in rural areas.

An Ceann Comhairle:    I am very constrained on time.
Deputy Mary Alexandra White:    Foreign direct investment is vital but we must try to become more focused on indigenous sectors. I am sorry I do not have more time to discuss the green economy but I am grateful to have a couple of minutes to speak on the Private Members’ motion to disprove some of the erroneous statements coming from the Opposition.

[ENDS]

Filed under: Enterprise, Trade and Employment