Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. Some of those questions are specific to relevant Ministers but I take the points regarding childcare, an issue that will be addressed as part of the budgetary process. The CSO statistics go by region or IDA Ireland markets, and Meath is part of the mid-east region. There are 103 IDA client companies in that region, employing 21,861 people. Specifically in 2022, 18 companies in Meath employed 2,449 people. Employment, and continuing to ensure we keep people in employment through retraining and upskilling, is a priority for the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and, indeed, for the Minister, Deputy Harris, in his brief as well. I will relay the issues the Deputy raised to the line Ministers, who will come back to him directly.

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