Employment back to pre crash levels

The Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar has welcomed the fall in monthly unemployment figures to 7.2 percent.

There were 157-thousand-700 people out of work in December, according to the latest CSO figures. That's a decrease of point-1 percent on the previous month, and 1-point-7 percent lower than the same time last year. The unemployment rate is now the lowest it's been since the crash.