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

First, people in Wexford are not living in the Dark Ages. The chairperson of the task force is a Wexford man and he is really involved and driving the improvement and progress we want for the south-east region.

We launched the regional action plans and we are working our way through them. I take on board what Deputy Wallace said. I read the report carried out by the Waterford Institute of Technology on unemployment in the area. We are working our way through the action plans. Enterprise Ireland, the IDA, the Retail Forum and the local enterprise offices, LEOs, are working together to make sure jobs are provided in Wexford. I accept what Deputy Wallace said about the various problems, including social problems in the area, but the Action Plan for Jobs is working. The south-east region was hit particularly hard, especially in the construction sector. Approximately 10,000 jobs were lost in the region and one does not get them back overnight, but we are working on the issue and there is an improvement, which is evident from the statistics. We must work much harder. It might be a good idea for Deputy Wallace to interact with the implementation group in the south east and to meet the chairman, who is from Wexford, who is driving the implementation group.

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