Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On employment, although we are heading in the right direction and progress has been made, it has not been enough. As the economy begins to improve and confidence begins to rise, one has to deal with the expectations of people for faster results in terms of their lives and lifestyles. It is always a challenge to meet this.

The Deputy mentioned that the west and south west were not measuring up in the overall employment figures. This has always been a challenge in terms of infrastructure - namely, roads, water, broadband, power and energy. Agendas are in place and progress is being followed. For instance, more than 200 secondary schools have been fully linked in to effective broadband. We expect to have approval shortly from the European Commission for the regional development programme that we negotiated under Ireland's Presidency. It includes a budget of €2.5 billion for 2014 to 2020. It will include measures in respect of the Leader programmes which are coming to an end at the end of March. This is an important element in the development of provincial and rural Ireland.

With the abolition of milk quotas, as the Deputy is aware, we will become the most productive dairy unit on the planet. There are projections for several thousand on-farm jobs over the next number of years. Quite a lot of interest has been expressed in land acquisition and leasing of land. There have been changes, in the budget, to facilitate young farmers and the evidence is that many of them are choosing the agri sector as a primary career. All of the courses in agriculture colleges are booked out. It is important to note that the Japanese and American markets have been opened for specialist Irish beef. Ireland is the first country in Europe, for a long time, to achieve this. Negotiations have also been under way for some time in respect of China and a number of other counties. These are important elements of the community response to facilities provided by Government and its agencies.

Quantitative easing from the ECB has weakened the euro against both the dollar and the pound sterling. From an export point of view, this benefits Ireland. It also means that from a product point of view, principally the hospitality sector, the Border regions are now becoming busier in terms of what they offer. Initiatives such as the Wild Atlantic Way, which goes from northern Donegal to Kinsale, offer a unique opportunity to develop these sectors and create jobs. The Government abolished the travel tax and reduced VAT, stabilised the industry and created 35,000 jobs.

I congratulate Darren Clarke on being appointed the next European Ryder Cup captain. The Irish Open in Northern Ireland this year will attract very heavy numbers, as the world's number one will be there. These are opportunities in the hospitality sector which can provide a really good basis for careers and jobs.

On subcontracting, 2020 is the programme. It is very detailed. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government is working on two planning Bills which will deal with Part V provisions, development levies and the question of contractors getting on site. There is a very big demand for housing in the greater Dublin region. This cannot be dealt with unless more houses and accommodation are provided. We need to stimulate this. One of the big problems for contractors - competent contractors and not cowboy contractors - is getting finance to start a project. The funding model has been changed by the Central Bank. The subcontractor legislation has gone through the Dáil and is now law. This should be applied in the case of the site mentioned by the Deputy.