Page 41 of A Programme for a Partnership Government refers to a regional spread of growth of jobs. The south east consistently has the highest rate of unemployment, well above the national average and twice that of Dublin. Of the jobs there, a significant number are of low quality and low paid, which is reflected in the low income tax returns from the region. Wexford has few IDA Ireland jobs, almost no IDA Ireland land and a minuscule number of IDA Ireland visits. The south east is proving to be the forgotten region for jobs and Wexford is the forgotten county. When will the Minister address this?

Unemployment has fallen throughout the country, which is welcome. However, the south east remains stubbornly higher than the rest of the country at 7.3% unemployment, 2.1% above the national average of 5.2%. That is 14,900 people out of work in the region up to the quarter at the end of September. There is a lot more work to be done. Waterford and the south east can act as a release valve for the overcrowding in Dublin. We have fantastic connectivity with the M9 and the M11. There is no doubt that a special emphasis is needed once again to improve this situation. The final pieces of the jigsaw for the south east are equality of healthcare and the technological university for the south east. I know a lot of work has been done previously to get the rate of unemployment down, so as I said, a special emphasis is required again.

I thank both Deputies for raising this matter. A lot of work has been done in the south east through the regional enterprise plan. All of the agencies are working closely together to promote that area as a place in which to invest and to do business. The Deputies will be pleased that there were two IDA Ireland announcements recently. Only last week, I was on a trade mission to South Africa with Taoglas, which is a wonderful company originally based in Wexford. The type of product it is selling is being sold on a global basis. When athletes wear a particular piece of kit to monitor their performance, the antenna in that kit is made by Taoglas. It is a wonderful and innovative company based in the south east, and we want to see more of that in the region.