Vol. 432 No. 6
119 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment whether he is satisfied with the progress achieved to date by the present Government in reducing the unemployment figures by way of job creation as opposed to restructuring of the various categories of unemployed; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I am satisfied that the Government is mobilising all the means at its disposal to tackle the unemployment problem. In the first place macro-economic policy is designed to encourage business and investment, including new proposals in the Finance Act. In the case of my Department measures include the programme announced by me on 3 May in the document "Employment through Enterprise", the encouragement of local initiative through regional structures for enterprise, as well as improved active labour market measures.
As the Culliton report indicated, there are no simple policy actions that can ensure a quick solution to the problem of unemployment. I am confident, however, that the measures taken by the Government in the area of industrial policy and labour market measures will make a significant impact on the unemployment problem.
