Jimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

Ministers and Deputies on this side of the House are very aware of the situation because we meet it every day in our clinics. We are attacking the problem with all our strength. It is a two-pronged attack. We are engaging with the people who have been made redundant and are upskilling and retraining them. We are also looking at foreign direct investment and development of our indigenous industries through Enterprise Ireland and the IDA. The amount of money that is being spent on both programmes is increasing dramatically. This is a challenge, but to imply the Government is totally unaware of the situation is to live in a never, never world.

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