Gilmore backs ICTU/IBEC call for job creation moves
Issued : Monday 21 June, 2010
Statement by Eamon Gilmore TD
Leader of the Labour Party, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs & Trade
The Leader of the Labour Party, Eamon Gilmore TD, has said that the government should act on the call from ICTU, IBEC and a number of other organisations for continued investment in infrastructure in order to get more people back to work. Deputy Gilmore said that the government also need to take action arising from the findings of the ISME Bank Watch Survey which revealed that more than half of the companies that applied for credit in the past three months had been turned down.
“The fact that organisations like ICTU and IBEC came together to make the call for investment in infrastructure is an indication of the seriousness with which they view the unemployment crisis. Unfortunately getting people back to work appears to be very low down on the list of government priorities.
“The ISME survey is also a damning reflection of the failure of the government to deliver on promises to make the banks provide badly needed credit and reinforces the case for the establishment of a Strategic Investment Bank, as proposed by the Labour Party.
“The findings will not come as any surprise to any public representative as we all know of cases in our own constituencies where otherwise viable companies are being choked to death by the failure to secure credit. Jobs are being lost as a result and people who want to work are being condemned to a life on the dole.
“Huge amounts of taxpayers’ money have been ploughed into the banks, but Fianna Fail has failed to honour commitments it made that the banks would be required to free up credit in return. We were also told that once NAMA was established and the delinquent loans removed from the banks’ books, credit would flow again. It simply has not happened.
“It was two years ago this week (June 25, 2008) that I first raised the problem of lack of credit for businesses with Brian Cowen at Leaders Questions. The Taoiseach dismissed my concerns and reassured the Dail that ‘the Irish banking system is well capitalised and it in a healthy state in terms of its own financial situation’. This was just three months before the government introduced the disastrous blanket bank guarantee.
“Two years on, Mr. Cowen still does not seem to understand the difficulties being faced by so many companies and that jobs are being threatened and indeed lost as a result of the attitude of the banks.
“If we want to get people back to work, then the Irish economy must be weaned off its dependence on property and consumer credit, and be re-invented as an export-led, sustainable investment economy.
“What we need now is a new greenfield bank with a clear mission to support investment in SMEs and innovative firms, and to assist in the funding of infrastructural investment.
“Labour has always argued that necessary action to deal with the banking crisis and with the budget deficit, must also be accompanied by a strategy for jobs. Labour’s Strategic Investment Bank can play a vital role in that jobs strategy, securing existing jobs and creating new ones.
“A sustainable investment economy is one where innovation is promoted across all sectors, where there is an environment that promotes firm start-up and expansion, and where there is a commitment to the provision of world-class infrastructure.
“Creating Jobs is the key to getting Ireland moving again. The Strategic Investment Bank is one of number of proposals that Labour is advancing as part of our Jobs Strategy. Labour’s Jobs Fund would also provide other supports for firms, and would fund a major programme of training and work experience."
