David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Notwithstanding any concerns I have on the Government's action plan for jobs and the Minister's plan for putting people first, I welcome the establishment of the Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas, CEDRA. I hope it will be able to examine failures in the system and also to consider how we can tweak the action plan for jobs and build on some of its successes as well.

The success of the Minister’s reform agenda and the linking of local government and the enterprise agencies will be based on getting buy-in from as many agencies as possible. Multi-agency buy-in is of considerable importance. We must ensure the education providers, enterprise agencies and local government but also local development and community development form part of an overarching plan and buy into the process. In the past the city and county development boards tried to bring together such stakeholders but the Minister appears to envisage the socio-economic committees taking over the role and driving it on. We must ensure we have buy-in from all the agencies across the board at a senior level if they are to be as successful as we want them to be.

Reference has been made to tying in the work of CEDRA with the Government’s jobs action strategy. The point has been made that rural areas have suffered disproportionately because of the downturn and have high levels of unemployment. Regional disparities are also evident. The Minister and I are both familiar with the south east where unemployment is 25% above the national average. Part of the problem is that the region itself does not work as an entity in the way it should, but also because the enterprise agencies have not delivered for the region. It is important that the new commission would examine rural areas and that we acknowledge the regional disparities. Recent Government policy in the national action plan for jobs places a high level of concentration on jobs in Dublin, Cork and Galway. That has been proven by IDA Ireland's figures. However, outside of the cities, many areas have suffered. I can give a quick example.