FIANNA FÁIL leader Micheál Martin is demanding the Government include job-creation measures in the budget next month.

There should be “concrete attempts and proposals of a radical kind” to generate a far greater degree of employment than was predicted by the Government.

“It is the most fundamental issue facing many households across the country,” said Mr Martin.

He said a clear commitment had been given to sell €7 billion of State assets with a view to creating 100,000 jobs.

The jobs initiative had been anything but that, said Mr Martin, adding that there had been no evaluation, no data and no analysis of the outcome.

“In short, it seems that the jobs initiative amounted to a raid on pensioners and was more about revenue generation than employment creation,” he added.

More than 447,000 people were now unemployed, he said.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the programme for government contained a commitment to realise €2 billion from selling State assets.

The troika might want a higher figure and there had been discussions about how any potential sale receipts could be used, either for debt reduction or a jobs initiative, which was the Government’s strong preference.

Referring to the jobs initiative, Mr Kenny said the reduction of VAT and PRSI had had a direct impact on the hospitality sector and on job creation and growth.

There was also a JobBridge internship scheme.

“As we focus on the budget in the period ahead, in meeting the target of 8.6 per cent we will focus on not taxing work unduly and on creating initiatives to open new doors for the creation of business and jobs,” said Mr Kenny.

Since 2003, the performance of Irish industry, indigenous and foreign direct investment companies, had been extraordinary in the teeth of a global recession, Mr Martin said.

“The Taoiseach’s belated and long-overdue endorsement of the previous government’s industrial policy is accepted and merited,” he added.

Mr Kenny said he had always endorsed the strong performance of Irish exporters and the people who got on planes every week and sold their wares abroad.

“I did not endorse the financial competence of the previous government in the middle of the night, to the detriment of every Irish taxpayer for years to come,” he added.

Mr Kenny said that before the end of the Dáil session, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton would introduce the micro-finance scheme and legislation for partial loan guarantees.

There would be a particular focus in the budget on job creation.

“The deputy will have his own opportunity, given the scale of the mess he left behind him, to tell us what he thinks should be done,” Mr Kenny added.