Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to hear the answer from the Minister of State. It is good to see that there is a focus from the Government on delivering jobs in the regions. We have heard that before. However, the reality in places like counties Leitrim and Roscommon and other areas in the north and west is quite different. Last year, 89 jobs were created in Leitrim by companies supported by IDA Ireland., less than 0.5% of the total number of IDA Ireland jobs created throughout the country in 2017. The Minister of State can understand why people in County Leitrim feel left out. Figures from the Central Statistics Office, CSO, show that 5,467 people were on the live register in Sligo and Leitrim last month. I know there are various initiatives to get people back to work, but the problem is that in many cases the jobs do not exist. That need to be recognised.

I appreciate that many companies have to make their own decisions about where they go. We know that when large companies such as Bank of America MBNA came to Carrick-on-Shannon many years ago it was because of a local connection, namely, a person from Leitrim who worked for the company abroad and got it to come here. In many cases, that is what we are depending on but we need to depend on more than that. I would like to know that the Government has a plan with incentives and initiatives to attract FDI companies to go to the places with the most potential in rural areas of the country. The production economics are much better in rural areas. There is cheaper housing and everything else is cheaper for people to live and work. Companies have an opportunity to prosper and develop those areas. I would like the Government to do something to incentivise that.

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