I propose to take Questions Nos. 152 and 155 together.
According to the latest quarterly national household survey published by the Central Statistics Office on 16 June 2004, unemployment in the border area is at 5.4%. The corresponding figure this time last year was 6.2%. The live register figures for June 2004 show that in the north-west region, numbers decreased by more than 7% against a national average decrease of 5%. The Donegal live register rate decreased by 5% between June 2003 and June 2004, down from 10,680 to 10,146. Although the live register is not a true record of the level of unemployment, as it includes people who are not available for work, it is a useful indicator of current employment trends. These statistics indicate that the actions being taken by the industrial development agencies are impacting positively on Donegal and the north-west region in general.
Support for job creation is a day to day operational matter for the industrial development agencies. Job creation and job losses are a feature of economic development worldwide as various sectors expand and contract in response to market demand for goods and services, competitive forces, restructuring and technological change. In the case of redundancies or lay-offs the employment services division of FÁS provides a full service to the unemployed job seeker. This service is offered by FÁS through its network of employment services offices and clinics. It consists of matching suitable people to job vacancies, providing guidance interviews and placement on suitable training courses. In addition, FÁS north-west region has two training centres in Donegal, located in Letterkenny and Gweedore, delivering apprenticeship and specific skills courses. The expert skills group in Forfas is currently engaged in carrying out research on the labour market needs of the north-west. In addition, the enterprise strategy group, which I established in July, 2003, was given the task of developing strategic policy recommendations for enterprise in Ireland.
I am satisfied that a combined agency approach, including IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and the county enterprise boards, together with the involvement of local business communities, will address the job creation needs.