John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I told the Deputy that IDA Ireland jobs in the region have increased by 7% and that both the Minister and I regularly meet IDA Ireland's representatives in the south east, including the representatives of Wexford, Waterford, etc.

In 2015, the unemployment rate stood at 11.7% and now stands at 5.3%. The national unemployment rate, which stood at 10.5%, has declined to 5.2% in the same period. The Deputy will note progress is being made in the south east driven by the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland.

A total of 20,900 more people in the south east are in employment. All the indications are that three out of every five new jobs created in 2018 and 2019 were outside Dublin. The work done by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, in conjunction with IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and the local enterprise offices, and driven by the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, has delivered the reduction in unemployment in the south east. The Deputy cannot argue with the figures. I accept at one stage the unemployment rate in the south east was much higher than in other regions but it has substantially decreased. If the Deputy were to look back to 2013 and 2015 and then look forward to 2018 and 2019, he would note the substantial increase in employment in the south east.

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