Ms Bríd O'Brien:

It is welcome to see the headline figures all moving in the right direction. However, that is of cold comfort to anyone living in the circumstances the Chairman described. Likewise, let us consider a region like Dublin. The employment and unemployment figures look healthy. Again, that is of cold comfort to anyone living in some of the less-well-off suburbs in Dublin where there is often intergenerational unemployment and associated poverty.

Let us consider the EU statistics on income and living conditions, EU-SILC. One of the groups that jump out is made up of those who are unemployed and experiencing poverty. Certainly, getting a decent job can make a big difference to people. This means that if a person needs to get a loan or car insurance, her opportunities are better if he or she has a job. Some firms will not even give people who are unemployed insurance quotes. Life circumstances can certainly be improved if a person gets a job, but it depends on the nature of the job. The feedback we get from individual members and affiliates working and living in rural areas is that often trying to get access to such decent jobs can be problematic. Transport can be a major issue too when it comes to trying to access whatever work is available in an area. That has come to our attention as an issue. We have raised it previously because we take the view that it is particularly difficult to resolve.

Unemployment in the south east is often higher than the national figure.