Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I can throw out statistics across all day long, but the simple fact from the CSO labour force survey for quarter 4 of 2018 is that 51% of the jobs created were in Dublin. I am referring to gains. In the Border region there was a 0% gain. There was also a 0% gain in the mid-west. That is the harsh reality of life in rural Ireland, as I do not need to tell the Minister who is a Deputy for a Border county. She knows it intimately. The reality is that Dublin is attracting all of the inward investment. As I said, 51% of the jobs created last year were in Dublin, while 45% of GDP was also generated there. That is an unsustainable policy to continue to adapt. If we do not do something quickly and radical, we will have a situation where Dublin will become a dysfunctional city because it will not be able to sustain itself. It does not have the infrastructure or transport capacity required. There are housing problems, as well as a lack of services, including education services. We need to refocus for the benefit of Dublin and rural areas to ensure a regional balance.

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