James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister's answer is deluded. The last Central Statistics Office third quarter figures showed unemployment in the south east surged to 8.6%. The economy is supposed to be booming and we keep hearing announcements about jobs. Unemployment in the south east is going up, however. Wexford has 3.3% of the national population but it only has 1.3% of IDA Ireland jobs. The head of IDA Ireland has said he has no intention of purchasing any land in Wexford for IDA jobs despite the fact that Wexford has the sixth lowest ratio of IDA land.

We have low-quality jobs as well as a low percentage of our workforce in employment. The jobs that are there are low paid, as we know from the Revenue returns for the south east. IDA Ireland does not even know Wexford exists.

What will the Minister do about unemployment in the south east and the lack of jobs in Wexford? The unemployment rate is going up significantly at a time when the economy is booming. It shows the Government has zero interest. The Minister had to go back to the first quarter of 2015 to find a statistic to back up her statement. Unemployment is going up but the Government is doing nothing about this in Wexford. That is a fact.

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