Frequent foreign holidays and the number of Irish property investments abroad are partly to blame for congestion at check-in desks in the State's airports, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said today.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern:
Addressing a meeting of social partners in Dublin Castle this morning, Mr Ahern said he "totally sympathised" with those effected by the congestion.
"I recognise that it reflects, in part, the very high proportion of Irish people who now enjoy frequent foreign holidays and that 300,000 of our citizens own property abroad.
"I know that there is much to be done in catching up on the severe infrastructure deficit which we have inherited from the past."
Mr Ahern told the ninth plenary meeting with the social partners under the Sustaining Progress deal there had been "huge improvement" in working and living conditions in the State "as a result of the completions of projects such as the Luas, and the new inter-urban motorways, which are continuing to be developed around the country."
"While creating record numbers of jobs and making them accessible to as many people as possible is the primary way of guaranteeing the living standards of our people, we have also made very substantial strides towards improving the living standards of those who are unable to work for their own living."
On the economy, Mr Ahern warned that the "pressures of globalisation are relentless".
"The rise of new industrial powers in China and India, in particular, as well as the dynamic created within the European Union through the membership of new, young, well-educated and dynamic States, and the relentless pace of change in technology and its application, make us all subject to a relentless competitive pressure."
The Government and the social partners will begin negotiating a new national deal in the autumn. Mr Ahern said that the setting of wage levls would be " critically important" for stability and growth of the economy.
"It will absorb appropriately large amounts of energy when we begin our negotiations later this year. For this morning, I merely wish to emphasise that we can best protect high incomes by setting wage growth at a sensible and affordable level.
"I believe social partnership's own record of success in underpinning our economic and social transformation represents the best argument for its continuation.
