Cavan unemployment blackspots highlight two tier recovery-TD

Following the latest census figures highlighting that there are three “unemployment blackspots†across Cavan and Monaghan, a local TD claims the Government is still not doing enough to support jobs in the border region.

The 2016 census has shown that Cavan has two unemployment blackspots, the same as previously identified in the 2011 figures. Cavan urban and Belturbet urban, while in County Monaghan, Castleblayney has also been designated a blackspot.
An unemployment blackspot is defined as an area of 200 people or more where the unemployment rate is higher than 27%.
Figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show 35.8% unemployment in Cavan urban and 33.5% unemployed in Belturbet urban; unemployed for the county stands at 15.1%. In Castleblayney unemployment stands at 27.7%.
Although, the blackspot status has persisted in both Cavan areas, the new figures show a drop of 2.9 % for the Belturbet urban area, (36.4 % down to 33.5%), while Cavan urban has risen by 0.2% (35.6% to 35.8%) over the five years.
Fianna Fáil TD for Cavan-Monaghan Brendan Smith slammed the government's record on stimulating employment in the border area.
“These levels of unemployment are particularly worrying – and are further evidence of the two-tier recovery which Fine Gael has presided over in the last six years.
“The border area has never been a priority for this Government, and it is only following Britain's decision to leave the EU that the region has begun to feature on the Government's agenda. 
Since 2012 there have been eight IDA site visits in Cavan and only five in Monaghan – that's out of a total of 2,266 nationally. Those figures speak for themselves and are a damning indictment of Fine Gael's neglect of the region.
“The fallout from Brexit is the biggest challenge this country has faced in a generation and the border region will be disproportionately affected.
While the decision by the Taoiseach to assign special responsibility for Brexit to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney is welcome, it doesn't fully recognise the enormity of the task ahead of us, especially here in the border region.
“With the unemployment situation so bleak in parts of Cavan and Monaghan, it is imperative that the Government comes up with a strategy to limit any further deterioration of the situation and to put supports in place for small businesses and entrepreneurs, which have the potential to create local jobs.â€