Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I have given the statistics to show that the rate has fallen since this time last year. The key point is that FÁS undertakes activation measures. After three months, FÁS and the Department of Social and Family Affairs meet everybody who is on the register and offer them a variety of programmes for reorientation, training or opportunities. The macro and microeconomies are not separate. The long-term unemployment rate, people on the register for longer than 12 months, is approximately 1.3%.

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