Fianna Fáil still thinking about how to recover the 330,000 jobs lost during their crash – Corcoran Kennedy

“Fianna Fáil’s Spokesperson on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Dara Calleary, this morning on radio said that the party is in the process of finalising their enterprise policy offering. I am glad that after four years they are finally starting to think about how to recover some of the 330,000 jobs lost during the economic collapse they caused” says Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, Fine Gael TD for Laois/Offaly and Chairperson of the Oireachtas jobs Committee.

“While Fianna Fáil has been busy thinking about how to recover some of the jobs they lost, this Government has been pursuing policy that has resulted in the creation of over 80,000 and the fall of the unemployment rate from 15.1% to 10.6%. We are now working towards the target of reaching full employment by 2018, two years ahead of schedule.

“Thanks to the sacrifices of the Irish people over the course of seven hard years of recession which came about as a result of irresponsible Fianna Fáil spending, this Government is now in a position to put money back in people’s pockets.

“The new tax policies, which Fianna Fáil voted against, will see all workers a little better off with USC reductions for low and middle income earners and a 1% income tax cut on earnings between €32,800 and €70,000.

“Fianna Fáil seems to think that people earning €32,800 are rich and do not deserve any kind of relief. This Government does not agree with that outlook. It’s not just about creating jobs, it’s about making sure that work pays and the changes that will come into effect this month mark only the first step in making our tax system fairer.”