THE TAOISEACH HELD a meeting with the heads of state agencies, such as IDA, FÁS, Tourism Ireland and the Higher Education Authority, about job creation earlier today.

The aim of the meeting was to agree a strategy on creating jobs, protecting existing jobs and assisting the unemployed.

Brian Cowen wants to ensure the Government has a sharp focus on jobs.

However, the opposition parties criticised the move saying it was a publicity stunt.

On RTÉ’s Six One News tonight, Fine Gael’s spokesperson for Enterprise and Employment Richard Bruton said that after two years and 250,000 jobs lost, it was high time the government began to focus seriously on job creation and retention.

He said; “To quote Elvis Presley; we need a little less conversation and a little more action.”

Bruton added that Fianna Fáil’s “obsession” with banking has come at the expense of jobs.

Meanwhile, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation Batt O’Keefe dismissed the accusation that the meeting was a stunt, saying the meeting had been planned for some time. When asked why the media hadn’t learned of the meeting until late last night, O’Keefe replied “We don’t tell the media everything”.

He added: “We have a strategy in place and we’ve been pursuing it for quite some time.”