Vol. 495 No. 7
89 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extra Government resources, if any, for employment creation which will be delivered to deprived regions of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Tralee, Wexford and other cities and towns after 2000 if the Government decides to create a 13 county Objective 1 region excluding regions of the above cities and towns. [21148/98]
Government support to enterprise must conform to the limits set by the EU regional aid guidelines, the latest version of which will come into effect, generally in January 2000. I have already outlined the details of these in my reply to Questions Nos. 54, 92, 94 and 105 today.
With regard to the deprived urban areas mentioned by the Deputy, it is quite clear that the strong growth in employment in these areas has left many people unaffected, despite the very significant fall in unemployment, including long-term unemployment, in recent years. Some years ago it could be argued that the main problem was a simple lack of jobs. In present circumstances, it is quite clear that the main challenge is to ensure that people in deprived areas have the education, skills and development opportunities to avail of existing and future employment opportunities.
