Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Delivery of the Government's enterprise policy is seriously uneven, with the development of a very clear two-tier economy. People in the Border area, the midlands and the west are far more likely to be in poverty, to be unemployed and to have someone in their family emigrate. The last census saw a population increase but these areas saw a population decrease. The National Youth Council of Ireland reckoned that 51% of young people between the ages of 18 and 24 would consider emigration but Irish Rural Link said nine out of ten of the people to whom it spoke were considering emigration.

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