Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I do not wish to be adversarial, but the surest way of turning foreign direct investment away from an area is to label it a blackspot. Anything I said in my reply did not understate any difficulties there may be in Carrick-on-Suir in terms of creating employment. If we want to attract foreign direct investment to a particular location, we should avoid headlines or titles using the term "blackspot" because that does nothing for the area and nothing to enhance its prospects for attracting jobs and employment.

The south east is relevant. Everything I said in the reply is relevant because it impacts on Carrick-on-Suir. Between 2005 and 2010, IDA Ireland will bring 1,000 jobs to Clonmel, jobs which are just beginning to arrive. It is ridiculous to suggest that the success of IDA Ireland in attracting an investment of that size and quality to Clonmel, which is about 14 miles from Carrick-on-Suir, will not have an impact on Carrick-on-Suir's unemployment figures. It defies logic.

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