Vol. 414 No. 5
45 Mr. Lawlor asked the Taoiseach if, having regard to a recent media report (details supplied) showing the greater decline of employment in Dublin relative to the rest of the country in the last 20 years, he will institute a specific jobs programme for the Dublin area with particular emphasis on disadvantaged areas.
The Government and social partners agreed in framing the Programme for Economic and Social Progress that there should be an area-based response to long term unemployment. This response is detailed in section VII of the programme. The Government subsequently accepted the recommendation of the Central Review Committee that the initiative should be piloted in 12 areas in 1991. These areas included five disadvantaged areas in Dublin — Inner City, Ballymun, Finglas, Coolock/ Darndale and Tallaght. Local companies have now been established in these areas and they are preparing local action plans.
As indicated in the programme, it is proposed that, on the basis of a review of the pilot projects, satisfactory models will be progressively extended nationwide by 1994, as resources become available from a growing economy.
