Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I know the Minister's constituency quite well. It is similar to Tipperary with regard to employment. Worryingly, of the 3,530 jobs announced in the IDA's 2018 mid-year performance update relating to 21 publicly announced projects, out of a total of 139 projects, no project was expected to generate employment in the south east. A year and a half ago, statistics from the EUROSTAT yearbook report demonstrated that over 50% of Ireland's GDP, the total value of everything produced in the country, is generated in Dublin. This is despite the fact that approximately 60% of the population live outside Dublin city and county. The figures point to the disproportionate levels of economic activity that are concentrated in Dublin. I did not say there were any incentives for companies to come to Dublin, but everything is coming to Dublin. We must shift the balance. Otherwise we will choke the environment, given the housing crisis and everything else. It is clear that the rest of the country, particularly rural Ireland, is being left to stagnate while Dublin is bursting at the seams. Something must be done about it, especially for places such as Tipperary town and west Tipperary.

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