Hildegarde Naughton (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming to the House today. What is clear is the success story he has within his Department and what the Government has done since we came into office in 2011. It is important we remind people of the difficulties that citizens had to go through since 2011. The only way we will eradicate poverty and achieve the services in areas such as health, education and housing is through job creation. The Minister outlined that clearly in his address.

The Minister is to be commended on his role, what he has done and the hard work throughout the country. The Action Plan for Jobs and the outreach into the regions will be critical. The engagement the Minister has commenced throughout the country with local enterprise offices, local authorities and stakeholders from all the regions will be key. If we want to ensure job creation, the right environment within the regions and the empowerment of local people, it is important that message goes out. For example, I saw what happened in Galway, the considerable goodwill there, and the suggestions of those who want to get behind their region and create jobs. The Government is creating that environment but local stakeholders have a significant role to play in this. The goodwill is there. Government, working closely with all these agencies, will be key in creating jobs throughout the country. I look forward to working with the Minister in his role.