Dublin is not benefiting as much as other regions from the current economic boom and nine of the State's 11 worst unemployment blackspots are located there. These were among the statistics quoted yesterday to explain why a Dublin Employment Pact (DEP) was needed for the capital.
The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Mr Joe Doyle, said there had been tremendous growth in Dublin "but unfortunately not all areas have shared equally in it". Combat Poverty had identified the 11 most disadvantaged communities in the Republic, nine of which are in Dublin city and county.
He cited Ballymun as an example of communities blighted by crime, unemployment and a cycle of social deprivation that began with 52 per cent of secondary school students dropping out of the system without any academic qualifications. According to GDP, Dublin was not the poorest area of the State, but Mr Doyle described this as a "basically flawed measure of national wealth and income".
The pact, involving the social partners, statutory agencies, community and voluntary bodies and local political representatives, aims at establishing a series of policy and practical initiatives for the region. Among those unveiled yesterday were 11 projects to create 500 jobs for the long-term unemployed.
DEP chairman Mr David Connolly said there were still 11,000 fewer people working in Dublin than in 1971. Employment was the key to solving many of the city's problems, but it was growing much more slowly than in other regions.
In reality most of the jobs created in Dublin were in the services sector, were low paid and often part-time.
National policies were not designed to deal with Dublin's most disadvantaged areas or the problems of the long-term unemployed, he said. At the same time groups involved at local level in tackling the problem had to ask themselves honestly if they were dealing effectively with the problem.
Ms Maria Tyrrell, of the Larkin Unemployed Centre, said people needed to collate and share data. Things like the effects of the city-wide movement of people for work purposes were not being taken into account by policymakers.