Tom Parlon (Laois-Offaly, Progressive Democrats)

I will deal with that point. As the Minister stated earlier, employment in the BMW region has grown by one third in the past six years. This is an annual rate of 5% which is exceptionally strong judged by national and international norms.

Senator Ulick Burke implied that there would be an underspend of the Structural Funds in the BMW region but I can guarantee this is not the case. The overall spend in the BMW region is behind profile. However, as the Minister stated in his contribution, the objective is to increase the spend in the region over the remaining term of the plan and Senators can be assured in that regard.