asked the Taoiseach the total number of people on the employment register in Galway city and county on 31 December 1980 and 1982; and if the 10,169 registered at Galway city employment exchange on 30 December 1983 are resident in Galway city; and if not, if he will outline the area covered by Galway city exchange.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Galway Unemployment.
2.
Dún Laoghaire): There were 6,468 persons on the live register at all local employment exchanges in County Galway on 2 January 1981, of whom 2,772 were registered at the Galway city employment exchange. The corresponding figures on 31 December 1982 were 9,292 and 4,419 respectively.
A special analysis of the live register according to area of residence is carried out on a quarterly basis for the months of February, May, August and November. On 18 November 1983, the latest date available, there were 9,901 persons on the live register at all local employment offices in County Galway, of whom 4,780 were registered at Galway city employment exchange. Of the 4,780 persons on the live register at the Galway city exchange some 2,600 were resident in Galway city and the remainder were resident in other areas of County Galway.
I have been having some problems with regard to the unemployment figures for Galway.
This is Question Time and the Deputy must ask a Question, not make a statement.
We have been told today that on 18 November 1983 there were 9,901 persons unemployed. Yet in a question I put down two weeks ago I was informed that the latest figure available was 10,169 people unemployed in the county on 30 December 1983 and I wish to know how the Minister can reconcile those two figures. The unemployment figure on 31 December 1981 was 6,823 but in the reply I got two weeks ago I was informed by the Minister it was 7,630.
(Dún Laoghaire): There is some confusion here. The reply given to the previous question tabled by the Deputy did not refer to area of residence and I think that is where the confusion arises. I must admit I was slightly confused myself until I went into the matter more deeply. In reply to the Deputy's question today, I repeat that a special analysis of the live register according to area of residence is carried out on a quarterly basis. The figure of 10,169 represented people on the live register at all local employment offices in County Galway on 30 December 1983. The analysis with regard to area of residence is carried out on a quarterly basis and we do not yet have that analysis for December 1983. I am giving the Deputy the latest figures for area of residence, which is November 1983. The figure for December 1983 is a total figure for the county and is not broken down into area of residence. The confusion here is that people who sign on at employment exchanges need not necessarily be resident in the city in which they register. In other words, a person from County Galway can register at the city exchange but that does not imply that he is a resident of Galway city. It is merely a question of convenience that he registers in the city. The figures given to the Deputy on the last occasion were accurate but they were not in relation to area of residence. The figures were in relation to the total number of unemployed in the whole county.
Will the Minister of State accept that in the two-year period from January 1982 to January 1984 there was almost a 40 per cent increase in the number of unemployed for County Galway? Does he consider this is an acceptable increase? Are there any proposals to do anything about this level of increase?
That is a matter for another Minister. Question No. 2 is a statistical question only.