Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My job is just to relay the information to the Deputy. The Deputy asked for information on the huge unemployment issues in Tipperary and I have explained to him how fortunate Tipperary has been in the past number of years to have enjoyed the recovery it has, but we are not done. I reassure the Deputy that every effort is being made to continue to create jobs, building on the good work of both international and local businesses in Tipperary in providing employment in both the town and the county. The Government's goal is to create 200,000 jobs nationally by 2020, of which 135,000 are to be created outside the capital, which includes Tipperary. The south-east regional Action Plan for Jobs was launched in September 2015 and it covers counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford. The plan will see employment increasing in the region at a rate of 10% to 15% over the years from now until 2020. That will result in the creation of 25,000 new jobs in the region, which will benefit the people of Tipperary town and county. The reality is that tens of thousands of jobs are being created and that Tipperary is benefitting to nearly the same extent as the rest of the country. Those are not my figures, it is just reality.

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