Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 13 Jun 2000

Vol. 521 No. 1

Written Answers. - Employment Statistics.

Brian O'Shea

Question:

84 Mr. O'Shea asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the urgent action she will take to rectify the situation whereby 9.9% of adults in Waterford are on the live register, as against the national average of 6.6%; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16412/00]

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Ms Harney)

The latest quarterly national household survey which was published by the Central Statistics Office on 7 June 2000, shows that the unemployment rate for the south-east, which includes Waterford, has declined from 7.8% recorded in the first quarter 1999 to 5.8% in the first quarter 2000. This reduction of 2 percentage points in the unemployment rate has been well ahead of the overall 1.1 percentage point reduction for the State as a whole. During the same period employment in the south-east increased by 6.2%, a similar rate of growth to the rate of jobs growth nationally. The CSO does not publish unemployment rates from the QNHS, or from the live register, on a county basis.

The key to reduction in unemployment rests with job creation. The latest data shows that there have been positive labour market developments in the south-east as a whole with growth in employment and falls in unemployment over the 12 months to the first quarter 2000. Industrial development in particular areas of the country is a day to day matter for the industrial development agencies and is not one in which I have a direct function. However, the Government through its enterprise support agencies is committed to ensuring the most equitable distribution of job opportunities. IDA Ireland's current strategy, to encourage a greater proportion of new overseas investment, particularly internationally traded services industries, to locate outside the larger urban areas namely Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway, is gaining momentum and showing results in terms of the calibre of overseas companies currently looking at alternative locations within Ireland. This is being achieved by focusing on the main population centres in each region.

The thrust of national policies and actions to assist the unemployed in their return to the labour market are notified in the Employment Action Plan 2000. FÁS plays a key role in supporting unemployed persons in their return to work through a wide range and scale of training and employment experience programmes. These are administered on the basis of the needs of individual regions and counties with the application of resources in particular areas of the country being a day to day matter for FÁS.