Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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47. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she is aware of the urgent need to provide much needed additional job opportunities throughout counties Cavan and Monaghan; the proposals her Department and the State's industrial promotion agencies have to assist in job creation and in the maintenance of existing employment; if she will direct the agencies to implement specific strategies for areas such as Cavan and Monaghan which will be impacted adversely by the British decision to leave the European Union and the difficulties facing many local small, medium and large enterprises that are heavily reliant on the Northern Ireland and British market taking into account the weakening of the value of sterling; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22788/16]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The Regional Action Plans for Jobs initiative is a concrete example of the targeted approach being undertaken to boost employment in the regions.The core objective of the North East/North West Plan is to have a further 28,000 at work in the region by 2020. We are aiming to ensure the unemployment rate is within the 1% of the State average.

Key sectors targeted as part of the Plan include traditionally strong sectors for the region like agrifood, manufacturing/engineering and tourism, including active promotion of the tourism potential of the Lakelands Region.

The plan is being monitored and driven by an Implementation Committees. This committee comprises representatives from the Enterprise Sector, as well as the Local Authorities, Enterprise Agencies and other public bodies in the region.

The first progress report is currently in preparation. I expect it to be completed and published in the third quarter of 2016.

The UK remains a market opportunity for Irish business, and I am conscious that a decrease in the value and/or the volume of exports to the UK will affect industry, including SMEs and agrifood sector enterprises.

The Government has adopted an initial Contingency Framework to map out the key issues that will be most important to Ireland in the coming weeks and months.

My Department and the enterprise agencies are fully committed to supporting business in this period of heightened uncertainty; however, we do so against the background of a strong economy and a highly competitive enterprise sector.