Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)

We are all aware that Ireland is organised in a centralised fashion and it is not easy for the Minister to address counties individually. Instead, he must discuss the south-east region. County Wexford's population is 145,000 whereas County Waterford's is 113,000, yet no town in Wexford could even dream of having the benefits enjoyed by Waterford city. Wexford loses out due to the centralised way Ireland is organised.

The unemployment rate in the south east is 18.9% whereas the national average is 14.2%. In the Action Plan for Jobs 2012, the section on assisting indigenous business to grow by accessing finance reads: "Design and launch a new Development Capital Scheme, aimed at addressing a funding gap for mid–sized, high–growth, indigenous companies with significant prospects for jobs and export growth." I have asked the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance about this matter, but a strategic investment bank as promised in the programme for Government would be of significant benefit to many people in the indigenous business sector. Will the bank ever come on stream or has there been a change in plan?

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