South East needs job creation initiative, says authority

MORE Government money needs to be pumped into job creation in Waterford, the South East Regional Authority has said.

A delegation from the authority is to meet with Enterprise Minister Micheál Martin soon to discuss recent job losses in the region. One of the hardest hit parts of the south-east has been Carlow, which has seen hundreds of jobs go since Christmas.

Figures from the CSO in the past few days have shown unemployment levels in the south-east are among the highest in the country. Job losses in March were 1.2% greater than in March 2004. And household-income levels in parts of the region are as low as 90% of the national average.