Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Central Statistics Office published its latest statistics this morning. The report indicates that the Government and agencies of the Government have created 90,000 jobs since the beginning of 2012, when the Action Plan for Jobs was published. That is very important and great news for people who have been able to take up these new jobs. It means the Government is very much on track to beat the target of 100,000 new jobs by 2016. That means unemployment has fallen from 15.2% to 10.3%. As the Deputy knows, every decimal is worth approximately €90 million in savings for the people. We are moving very much in the right direction.

I am encouraged by and support the extent of growth in jobs created at home. The Deputy nevertheless makes an important point about the perception of a two-speed recovery. The cities of Dublin, Galway, Cork, Limerick and, to a lesser extent, Waterford seem to be attracting far more of the jobs than other locations. That is why local enterprise offices were set up in every local authority to provide information, access to assistance and an indication of what is available on a one-stop-shop basis.

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