David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

With respect, the amalgamation of Waterford city and county councils, as Mr. O'Leary will be aware, presented an economic development plan to the Minister and they are also calling for a regional director, a regional office and a regional strategy. It is simply not true to say that we have it. We do not have a regional office to the same extent that we had a regional office in the past.

On the point I am making about the figures, the figures show that the south east region is not getting its share and we are seeing more jobs lost the more jobs are created. That is a reality. I very much hope that when we see a new change in personnel, both in terms of the CEO and the chair, that we will see a different approach taken to balanced regional development. One cannot state that we have had anything like our fair share of jobs created by IDA Ireland in the south east over the past five years. I would be strong on that point. I would be disappointed with Mr. O'Leary's comments and I would hope that we will see in time a change of policy in this area.