A SERIES of recommendations aimed at arresting spiralling unemployment numbers in the midwest are to come before Government today.
The Mid-West Regional Jobs Task Force has completed its interim report and submitted it to Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Coughlan.
A spokeswoman for the Tánaiste said yesterday that the report is to go before Cabinet today for consideration and to be published soon after.
The taskforce was established under the chairmanship of Denis Brosnan, former chief executive of the Kerry Group, in the wake of 1,900 job losses at Dell earlier this year.
Mr Brosnan presented the Tánaiste with the report last Thursday. She said that “the report is broad-ranging in its considerations”.
Mr Brosnan has already stated that he expects the unemployment numbers in the midwest to reach 20 per cent by April of next year.
In a letter to Fine Gael’s Joe Carey TD, Mr Brosnan said that the interim report would “point out how bad things will become, the implications of long-term unemployment and what short-term actions we feel Government should take to help the region”.
June figures show the numbers unemployed in the midwest rose by 18,145 to 37,682 in 12 months.
