Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Will the developmental plan for rural areas include more specific targets for job creation? I presume the plan was supposed to run from 2020 to 2025 but given that we are now at the end of 2020, will it roll over into 2021? It sounds as if it might.

It is important when we look at job losses in counties such as Roscommon and Galway to note that many rural towns have lost major industries. Aptar is closing its facility in Ballinasloe. A cigar factory and Dawn Meats factory closed in Ballaghaderreen in years gone by. Those jobs have never been replaced and that is a problem. There is a quality of life in the likes of counties Roscommon and Galway that is second to none but we must have the basic infrastructure, including broadband, to attract people to live and work in those areas in the western region and to attract emigrants to come home.

The Northern and Western Regional Assembly has put forward positive ideas for job creation. Will the Minister engage with its representatives? Will she confirm job creation targets? We need better data collection on employment in the regions.

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