Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My Department published Enterprise 2025 in 2015. It sets out the strategic framework for coherence across Departments to focus our resources to foster a better future and to deliver sustainable enterprise growth and jobs. As a small open economy, we rely on external demand and international markets for growth. Since its publication, there has been continued global economic uncertainty, including, for example, Brexit. That is why my Department is currently undertaking a review of Enterprise 2025. That is our vision. We are examining any adaptation that is required to deal with current economic uncertainty, the challenge of Brexit and changes in policy in other countries.

We continue to maintain our focus on the regions, in particular through the regional action plan for jobs process. Through these regional plans and processes, we have a focus on balanced regional development. Later in the year, the Government will publish the national planning framework and the national capital investment plan, which will focus strongly on balanced development. Inclusive of growth in our urban areas, these measures will also focus very much on balanced regional development.

The south-east action plan for jobs is the key policy response for supporting employment growth in the south-east region with public and private stakeholders actively engaged together to make progress on jobs. The core objective of the plan is to see a further 25,000 at work in the region by 2020 and to reduce the unemployment rate to within 1% of the State average. The first two progress reports on the implementation of the Action Plan for Jobs show that progress is being made. I have had the opportunity to meet with the members of the action group. I note that 13,000 jobs were created in the south east since the regional action plans for jobs initiative was launched and implemented in January 2015. The unemployment rate in the south east has fallen from 12.8% in 2015 to 8.1% by the second quarter of 2017. However, there is still work to be done.

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