Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In regard to the previous question, less than 20% of the negotiations on CETA and TTIP concerned trade. I will now proceed to my question about jobs in Wexford. The national average unemployment rate is 7.2% while Wexford's unemployment rate is 18.4% - the third worst in the entire country. According to the South East Economic Monitor project, the south-east's economy continues to be characterised by persistently high levels of unemployment, deprivation and significantly lower job quality and that two data points explain why this might be the case: low education attainment and low higher education capacity within the region; and the paucity of new IDA-supported jobs over the past 25 years. Does the Minister have any serious plans to address those huge problems?

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