Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge what the Minister has said about personnel from the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and the LEOs. I have often wondered about providing incentives to bring people to the west and north west. On the east coast, including Dublin, it can be difficult to find homes to buy or school places for children. Additional incentives should therefore be provided to companies to relocate to the Sligo-Leitrim region because we have all the necessary facilities there. The work of the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and LEOs in trying to attract more jobs to the north west is vitally important.

The Acting Chairman, Deputy Eugene Murphy, referred earlier to his own area of Roscommon. This is a plea from the heart for more investment in the north west. I know the Minister is doing her utmost, but additional incentives would encourage people to come to the west. If they do come, as the Minister's family has done in recent years, they will never leave. More employment is needed in the region, but rates are too high.

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