Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Deputy Neville that it is encouraging to see unemployment falling and the number of people at work increasing in all parts of the country. There are good numbers in respect of Limerick in particular. According to a CSO report that was published recently, there are a number of black spots of very high unemployment in various parts of the country, including some small areas of deep intergenerational disadvantage. The best way to tackle this is through a forthcoming Government initiative - the action plan for jobless households - which will identify a number of global measures that are to be introduced across the country to reduce the number of jobless households and give people greater opportunities to engage in work or education. Five pilot areas in various parts of the country will receive particular attention under this initiative. Deputy Neville might want to speak to the Minister, Deputy Regina Doherty, about the possibility of one of these pilot areas being in County Limerick.

I am advised that the Minister for Justice and Equality will speak to the Garda authority about the Garda murder statistics today. We will get a further statement at that point.

There is enormous variability in nursing home charges and costs across the country. There is a big gap between the costs in public nursing homes and the costs in private nursing homes. The costs differ in various parts of the country. There might be legitimate reasons for all of that. The needs of people in public nursing homes tend to be greater than the needs of people in private nursing homes. Of course, land and building costs are higher in the cities than they are in rural areas. It is important to figure out the reason for the differential and to assess whether it is legitimate. That work is currently under way.

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