Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister is well aware, there is a disparity in job creation for rural communities, including peripheral areas such as my county of Kerry, and north Kerry in particular. That disparity has been alarming and shocking. Given the economic downturn as a result of the recession, the knock-on effect has been quite catastrophic. While there was an improvement in many areas throughout last summer and well into the autumn, the last quarter of 2014 saw a downward turn in Kerry with a 4.5% increase in unemployment. That is quite startling. I am told that the live register rose again in January.

The Minister will be aware of the hope and expectation surrounding the LNG project for north Kerry, which has been going on for seven or eight years. There is still no light at the end of the tunnel as to whether it will be realised and I understand the matter is currently before the courts.

Job creation is important for Kerry, as it is for other counties, but particularly so for a county with such a high unemployment rate. A total of 13,000 people are currently unemployed in County Kerry.

For its efforts, the IDA brought one potential investor to Kerry in 2012, two in 2013 and three last year. Nothing came out of these visits, however. By comparison, Cork had 95 visits in that period, while Limerick had 74. That puts things in perspective as to how far down the pecking order Kerry is in terms of the Government's commitment to the county for IDA-backed investment and jobs. I would like the Minister to address that issue. I understand that a new IDA building has been earmarked for the Tralee technology park, and I welcome that. Having said that, however, we still need jobs urgently.

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