Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is not true. The CSO provides the figures. The highest rate of growth in job creation was in the south east at 12.8%. That was followed by the midlands at 8.5%. Dublin was third and the rate was 6.5% in the Border region and so on. Some regions are not growing as fast as we would like and we need to build on that. Growth is occurring across all regions but we have to start with true figures. The figures I quoted related to the number of jobs created by our agencies together. Some areas find it difficult to win IDA employment and one of the actions we are delivering in the regional action plans is investment in advance facilities. For example, we are building in Letterkenny and we are now committing to build in Sligo. We have identified that for some regions additional magnets are needed to draw overseas investment but it is also important to remember that well in excess of 90% of employment is in Irish owned companies. The strong performance in employment growth in many of our counties relates to EI companies. The highest growth rate is in the south west at 27%. There has been a strong performance among Irish owned companies in a number of counties, including Sligo.

We have to have a balance and we have to look at the figures and the opportunities honestly while working together to drive those opportunities.

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