Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

My question is a bit close to what Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked so I hope the Taoiseach does not mind answering a similar question. The programme for Government includes a commitment to create more than 200,000 jobs by 2020 with 130,000 or 140,000 outside Dublin. If we look at the most recent figures, this is not happening. I acknowledge the Taoiseach was on the Roscommon and Leitrim border last Friday, when he opened an extension creating 60 extra jobs and this is good, but many rural areas are really suffering and the only thing we can hope to get into them is employment. I acknowledge there are broadband issues and other infrastructural issues but we need to do something urgently to get jobs into these areas. I will quote a figure I quoted previously, which is that each day more than 900 people travel from my county to work in Dublin. Is there anything the Taoiseach can do to give hope to these people to try in some way to persuade more businesses locating in Ireland to come to some of the rural areas?

See this speech in context