The seasonally-adjusted level of unemployment has fallen to 213,800, its lowest level since May 1984, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The figures for November show the seasonally adjusted rate total falling 3,300 and the number of people on the live register falling from 212,459 to 207,174. The live register total is the lowest since November 1983, when it was 199,567. The annual drop of 32,786 to November 1998 is the largest on record.
The Tanaiste, Ms Harney, reacted to the figures by saying that it should be possible to reduce the unemployment rate to five per cent over the next two years.
The latest figures mean the Republic now has a standardised rate of 7.2 per cent, compared to the EU average of 10.9 per cent.
The Republic's rate is now lower than many other EU states. According to the latest available figures, the rate in Germany is 9.6 per cent, Spain has a rate of 18.7 per cent, in France it is 11.9 per cent and in Italy it is 12.3 per cent.
The figures follow data published this week in the Quarterly National Household Survey which showed the total number of people at work increased by a record 95,000 between April 1997 and April 1998.
The monthly drop of 5,285 was split evenly between men and women and one third of the monthly fall came in the under 25 age group.
The Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Dermot Ahern, said the latest figures indicate that the Government's policies are working. He added that the challenge now is to focus on the long term unemployed who remain on the live register.
"Insteqad of simply paying people while they are unemployed, I want to invest in making people more employable. About 15 per cent of unemployment spending in my department is now going on active employability measures," he said.
Ms Harney said the figures show the employment action plan implemented since September 1st "is already achieving significant results in addressing the problem of joblessness among under 25s". The Labour Party's spokesman on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Tommy Broughan, said Ms Harney is misleading the public when she says the employment action plan is one of the reasons for the drop in the live register.
"The Government is claiming that it is putting in place 8,000 new jobs/training place for the long term unemployed, but this is a blatant untruth. The fact of the matter is that most of the new training places are tailored for lone parents, most of whom are not considered for social welfare purposes as long term unemployed," he said.
"The one thing this Government did do in the Budget was to ignore some of the key commitments in Partnership 2000 by cutting back on Community Employment and other important training schemes for the long term unemployed," he added.
The leader of Democratic Left, Mr Proinsias De Rossa, said in urban black spots unemployment remains a major social and economic problem.
Ms Harney was speaking in Limerick after announcing a range of welfare-to-work measures for which the Budget provided an extra £14 million as part of the Government's overall jobs strategy.
She also announced that the employment action plan will now be extended to over 25s.
Included among the other measures is £4.35 million for 1,500 new places on bridging programmes for the long term unemployed. She also announced that £2.5 million will be made available to facilitate 4,800 new job clus places.
The Government's chief whip, Mr Seamus Brennan, said the Quarterly National Household Survey is a more accurate reflection of unemployment. He said that it currently stands at 7.8 per cent.
