Fianna Fáil not happy that the Government intends to create 40,000 jobs this year?

“It is time for Fianna Fáil to stop feeding off the scraps of Government policy and to come up with their own jobs plan”. Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, Fine Gael TD for Laois/Offaly and Chairperson of the Oireachtas Jobs Committee was speaking following the announcement of the Government’s ambitious jobs targets this week.

“A revised plan and even more ambitious targets for jobs have been set this week. We have brought forward by two years our plans to reach full employment and want to create 40,000 jobs in 2015 alone.

“People scoffed at Fine Gael’s plans to create 100,000 jobs as part of our Five Point Plan. Not only are we reaching these targets, but the Government has set the bar even higher as the jobs market continues to grow.

“Claims from Fianna Fáil’s Dara Calleary that these aren’t real jobs and there is actually under employment are nothing more than a weak attempt to distort reality. The fact of that matter is that 94% of the jobs created in the last year were full-time positions.

“Dara Calleary claims that the Government are “massaging the figures” with activation schemes. That is not the case. Activation schemes account for only 10% of these 80,000 jobs, but make no mistake about it, we do not apologise for activation schemes as they are vital in enabling people to get back to full-time employment.

“The Government is also rolling out the JobPath programme this year to specifically help the long term unemployed get back to work.

“Fianna Fáil has absolutely no record on jobs. They destroyed 300,000 jobs in their last 3 years in power and left this country on its knees.

“In opposition, they have provided absolutely no insight into rebuilding the jobs market or the economy. Does Fianna Fail even have a jobs policy? It seems the only policy they are pursuing with gusto is that of opposing for oppositions sake. I think the Irish public expect and deserve more.”