South-east jobs plan launched

IN THE face of an unemployment rate which is almost a third higher than the average for the rest of the country, the Government has published an employment action plan for the south-east.

The South East Employment Action Plan, launched yesterday by Jobs Minister Richard Bruton, makes a number of commitments to the region including:

* The IDA will make a priority with a view to attracting new investment in the area;

* The IDA will specifically continue the process of promoting a replacement company for the existing TalkTalk facility and its qualified workforce;

* A new process will be started where up to €20,000 will be given to 10 new start-ups through feasibility funding from Enterprise Ireland for new start-ups;

* A First Flight workshop, aimed at companies developing export markets for their products, will be convened in Waterford and will be focused on Britain, north America and Asia.

The report was prepared by Forfás at the request of the minister and incorporates inputs from all the enterprise agencies, other relevant state agencies, local authorities and educational institutions from the region.

“The south-east region has persistently had higher than average levels of unemployment compared to the rest of the country,” said Mr Bruton. “On top of that it has fared disproportionately badly over the years of the recent economic collapse. Since 2007 it has seen its unemployment rate jump from 4.9% in 2007, marginally above the country wide average of 4.6%, to 18.2% against a national average of 14.3%.”

He said compared to other regions, the south-east’s industrial base had not developed “strong clusters” in specific sectors that could then help to attract future investments. He said the multinational sector was proportionately smaller than elsewhere.