Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The economic crisis hit job numbers in the south east badly with the loss of 37,800 jobs between 2007 and 2012. There has been a focused, collaborative approach and a range of reforms have been delivered in the region over recent years. The unemployment rate has fallen from a peak of 20.1% in 2012 to 12.5% in early 2016. Some 204,400 people are at work in the south east, an increase of 23,100 over the period. Over the past three years, employment growth in the region has increased at a faster pace than the national increase. While the current unemployment rate of 12.5% is still unacceptable and too high, the figures demonstrate that the overall trend is one of steady recovery.

I am committed to working with the various agencies and stakeholders in the south east to ensure this trend continues and that sufficient sustainable jobs are ultimately created. The regional action plans for jobs initiative is a concrete example of the targeted approach undertaken to boost regional employment. The core objective of the south east regional action plan, which was launched in September 2015, is to realise the potential to have a further 25,000 at work in the region by 2020. We are aiming to ensure the unemployment rate is within 1% of the State average.

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