It's claimed an aggressive approach is now needed to tackle unemployment levels in parts of Clare.
It comes following a rise in the number of people claiming some form of unemployment benefit in the east of the country, despite a marginal drop elsewhere.
There are now 7,700 people claiming some form of unemployment benefit in Clare, a drop of 44 in the month of January.
Ennis saw the greatest decrease where 48 people left the live register, while in the North of the county 3 people signed off.
In West Clare, the number dropped by 6 and Independent Election candidate Dr Michael Harty says he's not surprised by the slight drop.
East Clare was the only area in the county where the figure increased, 7 people joined the dole queues last month.
Outgoing TD Timmy Dooley has attributed the rise in the east to a number of lay-offs in the area.
The Fianna Fáil election candidate insists supports need to be put in place to assist smaller businesses.
The latest CSO figures show an 8% drop in the number of people signing on since the same time last year and a 29% drop in the number of people claiming unemployment benefit in Clare over the past five years.
