The Western Development Commission announced this week that County Sligo has suffered the lowest level of employment growth of any county in the past five years. This figure does not surprise me or many others in the north west. I have raised this issue often in this House but there has been no improvement. The reality is that the recovery is barely noticeable in my constituency and it is clear that the Action Plan for Jobs is not working in Sligo and the surrounding region. Will the Taoiseach and, perhaps, the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation give consideration to these worrying new figures and indicate that this matter will be examined, quickly and in detail? I am concerned, as are others. As a Government Deputy, I am asked by many people in Sligo and the surrounding region about when we can expect jobs to be created there.

The Deputy is correct that unemployment is down and employment is up in every county and region. However, progress in this regard is uneven and Sligo has not performed as well as other counties. It will be a priority of Government in the months and years ahead to ensure that those parts of the country where the recovery has been slow will experience an acceleration in their recovery. A big part of that will be investment in infrastructure, which I know is of particular importance to Sligo. I will ask the Tánaiste to give a more substantive response to Deputy McLoughlin when she returns from the Middle East.