Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I absolutely acknowledge that there have been significant improvements since the first quarter of 2015 when the Regional Action Plan for Jobs was launched in the mid-west. In fact, I was present when it was launched. My concern is that the improvement has apparently stopped. We need to take action now to ensure employment will continue to grow. In the mid-west there is excellent interaction between higher education and educational establishments generally and employment and industry. It has produced very positive results in recent years. My concern is that it has stopped. The Minister of State, Deputy Breen, recently expressed the same concern in the region. I ask the Minister to contact IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and other bodies under her aegis to ensure any issues that needs to be addressed is addressed in order that we can continue to improve the position in the mid-west.

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