The latest Live Register figures, which show a fall of 1,203 since December - or a seasonally adjusted decline of 3,200 - provide solid evidence that the economy is still growing strongly. Taken in tandem with the monthly economic bulletin from the Department of Finance, which records falling Government debt levels, negative price inflation for manufacturing and a rise in the consumer price index of 1.5 per cent during 1997, the outlook has rarely been so positive.
But while the economy is certainly blooming, there is no room for Government complacency. The intractable problems of unemployment and deprivation still dominate the social landscape. And a newly emerging housing crisis, driven partially by tax breaks, professional investments and institutional over-lending, is placing home ownership beyond the means of many young couples. Inflation of 15 per cent and more in house prices for 1997, at a time of 3 per cent national wage increases, will have inevitable consequences for wage demands and for future economic competitiveness.
The annual fall - from January to January - in the number of persons signing on the dole amounted to 22,363, reducing the total to 246,527, according to the Central Statistics Office. And almost 10,000 of that reduction occurred in Dublin, where the so-called "Celtic Tiger" is most in evidence. The capital city, according to these figures, is securing a disproportionate number of new jobs. The number registered there as unemployed fell to 73,115 in January, compared to 37,391 for the Cork/Kerry region, where a slight rise in the Live Register occurred during the year.
A national unemployment rate of 9.7 per cent is unacceptable at a time when a sizeable section of the population is enjoying rapidly rising living standards. And while the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, recently predicted the level of unemployment would fall to 9 per cent by the end of the year, his comments did not reflect the urgency and commitment the situation requires. The opposition parties have - rightly - complained about the slow rate of decline in the overall numbers out of work and have urged the Coalition Government to devise a comprehensive package of economic measures for use within those communities where unemployment is most acute.
The buoyancy in Government finances, which showed a 10 per cent rise in tax revenue for the month of January, reflects the thousands of new jobs being created within the economy. In addition, costs are being scaled back as the number of people on the Live Register falls. In such a situation, and while rapid economic growth continues, the Government should tackle areas of high unemployment and social deprivation. Considerable progress has been made over the past four years in cutting the average rate of unemployment from 15 to 10 per cent. But our relative failure is evident when we look to Britain and see how a far less vibrant economy has managed to reduce unemployment there to a level of 5 per cent. Now that is a target worth attacking.