Fine Gael TD for Dublin Fingal, Alan Farrell, has said that the on-going decrease in unemployment visible in the North County shows that the Action Plan for Jobs, implemented by Fine Gael in Government, is continuing to prove successful and benefit our local area.
“The impact of the Action Plan for Jobs can be seen with widespread effects in Dublin Fingal and across our nation. The national unemployment rate has fallen to 7.8%, from a high of 15.2% in 2012. This fall to an unemployment rate of 7.8% in May of this year is the lowest since October 2008. In our local area, this continuous decrease in unemployment can be seen in every social welfare office in the North County.
“The figures from the CSO have shown that, since May 2012 the unemployment rate in Balbriggan has decreased by 34.3%. In the same period, the number of people on the live register in the Kilbarrack office, which serves Portmarnock, it has fallen 34.9%, and in the Swords office, serving Malahide and Donabate, has reduced by 40.4%.
“I am delighted to note that these figures also show a significant decrease in the level of youth unemployment in our local community. In the same period, the number of people under the age of 25 on the live register in the Balbriggan office has fallen by 51.6%, in the Kilbarrack office it has decreased by 65.1%, while in the Swords office, the reduction has been 60.1%.
“Tackling unemployment remains as a core objective of Fine Gael in government. It is crucial that every person in the North County who wishes to work has the opportunity to do so. As the local Fine Gael TD in Dublin Fingal, I am committed to working towards further reductions in unemployment and ensuring that continued job creation remains at the fore of the agenda in Dáil Éireann.”