Vol. 560 No. 5
67 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment her views on the unemployment rate in the north west versus the rest of Ireland as outlined in correspondence from a person (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3082/03]
The figures to which the Deputy refers relate to the Labour Force element of the CSO Quarterly National Household Survey. The latest survey, for August 2002, shows an estimated unemployment rate of 6.9% in the Border region – comprising counties Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan, Monaghan and Louth – compared with a national rate of 4.6%.
While the rate for the Border region continues to be somewhat higher than the State as a whole, the survey shows that unemployment in the region fell from 13.2% in November 1997 to the current 6.9%. During the same period, estimated unemployment for the State as a whole fell from 10.4% to 4.6%. Over those five years, total numbers employed in the Border region increased from 143,900 to 171,400, an increase of over 19%.
Progress has therefore been made in reducing the disparity between the Border Region and the national average. The aim is to continue this trend, and in this regard the industrial development agencies, IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, have strengthened their regional strategies and presence to ensure a continued flow of investment into the regions. Their efforts complement a programme of infrastructural improvements to ensure that the conditions are right for more balanced regional development.
