13% drop recorded in Mayo Live Register figures

A new government plan will help consolidate the economic gains being made in Mayo, according to Fine Gael general election candidate Alan Dillon

Dillon said: “The latest CSO figures show that numbers on the Live Register here in Mayo has decreased by 13% in the last year. Since the Action Plan for Jobs was launched in 2012 there has been a 48% decrease.

“Over 154,000 jobs have now been created in Ireland since the Government was formed in 2016.

“Only a strong economy supporting people at work can provide the public services needed to deliver the kind of society we all want to live in.

“The government is ambitious to build upon the gains we have made in recent years and to ensure our people enjoy higher standards of living and quality of life now, and into the future.

“Future Jobs Ireland is a new whole-of government plan to secure Ireland’s economic success. It complements Project Ireland 2040 and Global Ireland 2025 as whole-of-government strategies charting an ambitious course for Ireland’s future development.

“Future Jobs Ireland is about supporting business but also investing in the development of people. The world of work is changing. Advancing technology means society is always ‘on’,” Mr Dillon said.

An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, said: “People have worked hard over the last eight years and should be proud of how far they have taken our country. But there is no room for complacency.

“Future Jobs Ireland sets out to respond to future risks. We want Irish people to benefit from the changes already happening in the world of technology, artificial intelligence and robotics, and the move to a low-carbon economy.

“I want Ireland to be a country that works to live, not lives to work. Businesses need to consider new ways of attracting and retaining talent through remote and flexible working options: women as well as men can get the job done. So that people living in rural areas can work for Google, Facebook and Apple without having to commute to Cork City or Dublin.

“We need to see lifelong learning as the norm so we are adaptable to new technology and sectors. And, today we are announcing that we have committed to doubling our Lifelong Learning rate to 18% by 2025.

The Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys, emphasised that Future Jobs Ireland was focused on sustaining high quality jobs: “There are 390,000 more people at work since the start of 2012.

“As we approach full employment it is now time to shift our jobs focus. It is no longer just a question of more jobs, instead we must focus on growing highly productive and skilled people creating and working in highly productive and sustainable businesses.”