Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. The Minister of State said that 2,702 jobs were created, but that figure relates to the whole south-west region, including counties Kerry and Cork. I am particularly interested in the west Cork figures, because the specific question I asked relates to that area. Unfortunately, the Minister of State does not have figures for 2021, when we are at the latter stages of the year. He stated that 97 jobs were created in 2019 and ten jobs were created in 2020.

We are feeling the pinch in west Cork. I would have preferred a breakdown of the figures including information on jobs created in towns such as Bandon, Clonakilty, Kinsale, Skibbereen, Bantry and Dunmanway. We also must think of the peninsulas. Over the past number of years, these areas have been totally dependent on the farming and fishing industries. Both of those industries are on their knees at this stage. The fishing crisis is unbelievable, but the farming crisis is rumbling on on top of that.

What future has the Government created for people living on peninsulas who are going to suffer quite a lot over the next number of years?

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