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Seanad
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Ireland’s economic image

Summary

Senator Noone reports Peter Sutherland’s criticism of overly negative domestic and international portrayals of Ireland’s economic progress.

I attended a breakfast this morning at which the former Attorney General, Peter Sutherland, spoke. He had some very interesting things to say about the Government's progress on the economy, which is somewhat underplayed. He concentrated on our image abroad, on which he had a very interesting perspective. While it is not something of which we are unaware in this House, he pointed to the media's portrayal of an overly negative picture, both here and abroad, of the current situation and the measures being taken by the Government. In particular, he highlighted the fact that 3,000 new companies had been created in August. He referred to the fact that the constant fall in unemployment month on month had been attributed to emigration. However, the drop in unemployment is not solely due to emigration and we have the statistics to back up Mr. Sutherland's assertion in that regard. The negative image of Ireland abroad is being hugely emphasised by our own media. This issue has been raised by almost all Senators and now that we have been rejuvenated, we should really try to impress on the media the importance of reporting positively on the economy and also on the work we do in this House.

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