Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)
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Question 123: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the ratio of jobs in a locality to the labour force resident in that locality in County Meath; and his plans to improve the jobs ratio, in order to minimise the necessity for person in County Meath to commute outside the county for employment. [40960/06]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The most recent data available is from the 2002 Census of Population. Based on an analysis of 15% of the addresses of place of work taken from that Census, the CSO estimates that approximately 55% of the County Meath labour force worked in the County. The percentage of those at work at that time was 93.4%.

Job creation is dependent on a number of factors including the economic and labour market dynamics. Much is and can be achieved outside of Government intervention.

As regards the development agencies under the remit of my Department, I am assured that they are endeavouring to attract new investment to the County, to encourage the start-up of new businesses, to grow existing businesses and to develop all aspects of the labour market. I understand that the net job gains in agency assisted firms in Meath is showing positive signs of growth in the past couple of years and that the efforts being made by the agencies will continue to bear fruit into the future.