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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 23 Mar 2017

Vol. 944 No. 1

Priority Questions

Job Creation

Niall Collins

Question:

1. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she will ensure the continuation of the Succeed in Ireland programme before the result of the current review has been published and examined; if not, the reason; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14746/17]

Maurice Quinlivan

Question:

2. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if, in view of the fact the review of the ConnectIreland Succeed in Ireland programme will be commissioned shortly after the current contract with IDA Ireland expires on 26 March 2017, she will continue this scheme in order that IDA Ireland can extend ConnectIreland’s contract to operate the Succeed in Ireland initiative; and if she will direct IDA Ireland to take action to avoid the loss of the jobs currently being sourced by ConnectIreland and take action to avoid the loss of the global network built by ConnectIreland. [14457/17]

I raised this on Leaders' Questions in the last hour. The Minister is well aware of the Succeed in Ireland programme. I am asking the question because I want to impress on the Minister that there can and should be a way to ensure the continuation of this programme while the review, which has not yet commenced, is going ahead.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together.

The Succeed in Ireland initiative has been operated by ConnectIreland on the basis of a contract with IDA Ireland that was originally agreed in March 2012. The contract was extended by 12 months in March 2016 and is now set to conclude on 26 March 2017. It would not be permissible for any further extension to be granted on account of public procurement law.

The board of IDA Ireland, at its meeting in November 2016, considered the future of the initiative. It decided the agency would not re-tender for its continuation at this stage.

However, a definitive decision was not taken on the ultimate future of the Succeed in Ireland initiative.

I have asked my Department to commission a review of the initiative after the conclusion of the current contract. This will help to provide us with a better understanding of Succeed in Ireland's results and its wider contribution to employment generation. The review may also consider the development of a new initiative. It is important that this review be undertaken before a determination is made on how we proceed.

No one disputes the fact that there will be a review. In fact, ConnectIreland welcomes the review because it has a good story to tell and all of its outcomes have been positive. Some 80,000 members of the diaspora in more than 147 countries are connected and almost 80 new businesses have grown in Ireland, creating in excess of 2,000 jobs. It has been a positive story, but the problem is that IDA Ireland feels threatened by this. ConnectIreland creates jobs at a cost of €4,000 per job whereas an IDA Ireland job costs €10,000 to €11,000.

What is the problem with allowing ConnectIreland to continue the initiative while the review is under way for a few months? The contract was extended a year ago to allow for the review, but it has not got under way yet. ConnectIreland's clear legal advice from solicitors Arthur Cox is that there is no reason that the contract cannot be extended for that purpose. ConnectIreland is happy to take its chance in any retendering process.

The Minister will lose all of the initiative, goodwill and contacts. It does not make sense.

IDA Ireland's board decided this matter in November. I understand that this was partly because it had received legal advice about the difficulties associated with retendering in the midst of a legal dispute with the current contractor, ConnectIreland. IDA Ireland would also have considered the fact that the programme had only achieved approximately 10% of its target of creating 5,000 jobs. I respect the decision of the independent IDA Ireland board and have no reason not to.

It is not an option for IDA Ireland or my Department to enter into a further contract with ConnectIreland without first undertaking a new tendering process, as the maximum number of extensions to the contract has already been granted under public procurement law. Any further extension would constitute a breach of that law. My Department will be commissioning a third-party review of the Succeed in Ireland initiative.

It is simply not the case that the figures cited by IDA Ireland are the programme's outcome. As the Minister knows, the Oireachtas committee held a full session on this matter on Tuesday, and it was disrespectful to the Houses of the Oireachtas that representatives from IDA Ireland failed to appear. It did not give an adequate reason for that. There is a dispute, but there is no litigation and the matter is not sub judice.

I implore the Minister. There is a precedent for extending the contract. There is no reason for it not being extended for a further three to six months in order to allow the review to be conducted and the programme to continue. Arthur Cox has confirmed that it "is both legally permissible and entirely appropriate in the circumstances; and we cannot identify any legal impediment whatsoever to the IDA doing so".

The Government devised what was a very good initiative and we support it, but we want to see it continued. Will the Minister please see common sense and find a mechanism to allow for that while the review is under way?

First, we extended the contract.

Let me continue, please. It is stated in black and white in that contract between ConnectIreland and IDA Ireland that the last six months of the extension were to be a wind-down period. That is how it is.

Second, extending the contract would break procurement laws, which we will not do. IDA Ireland has legal advice and I have advice from the Department's legal adviser.

We have not decided in any way to get rid of the Succeed in Ireland initiative, which has been good. As to the figures that have been thrown out, the verified number that I have seen is 535 jobs. As part of the contract, ConnectIreland signed a verification clause. IDA Ireland has complied with exactly what is in the contract.

What about the red lighting?

I will revert on that matter in a moment as I am over time.

I keep hearing about jobs in the regions. A total of 58% of the jobs created, or 312, are located in Dublin, 30 jobs are in Cork and 42%, or approximately 220, are in the remainder of the country. I will revert to the Deputy on the other point.

Brexit Issues

Niall Collins

Question:

3. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the contingencies and supports in place to safeguard Irish jobs and exports from a hard Brexit scenario; the number of EU Competitiveness Council ministerial meetings that she made the case for the need of a revision of state aid rules to protect Irish enterprises and related jobs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14747/17]

In advance of the Brexit referendum, my Department conducted a contingency risk assessment of the potential impacts of Brexit across relevant policy areas. We have refined our analysis since then and have been working with our agencies and across Government to put in place additional resources and actions so as to mitigate risks and maximise opportunities. I have also initiated new structures, consultation fora and research to inform our decision making. Budget 2017 and the Action Plan for Jobs 2017 include important initiatives to enhance the capacity of our enterprise agencies to assist companies in the context of Brexit.

Since the Brexit referendum, I have attended three meetings of the Competitiveness Council. The issue of revisions of state aid rules on foot of Brexit has not arisen at Council meetings, in which the UK continues to participate. However, in all of my engagements with European Commissioners and Ministers from other member states since the UK decision, Brexit has been a central part of the discussions. At each meeting, I have stressed the potential impact of Brexit on the most exposed sectors of the Irish economy.

My departmental officials have also had discussions with senior officials from the Directorate General for Competition and other relevant DGs to sensitise them to the potential difficulties for Irish businesses arising from the Brexit referendum result. These discussions are ongoing, will continue to address all relevant issues and challenges and will explore all possible options.

I thank the Minister. I wish to raise two points on this matter. We are nearing the invocation of Article 50, as the Minister is well aware, but something that she confirmed to me via parliamentary question will come as a surprise to many. Her Department has a Brexit unit, headed up by a principal officer, with only three staff. For such a large Department that plays a major role in promoting job creation and enterprise to have a Brexit unit that is so small is very concerning and disturbing.

On this side of the House we have consistently called for an enterprise stabilisation fund and an employment support scheme similar to what was established in 2008 when the crisis hit this country. Does the Minister have any intention of introducing such measures to help businesses to buffer themselves against the oncoming shock of the impact of Brexit? In my part of the country in Nenagh, for example, jobs were lost when a company closed, citing Brexit as the reason to relocate to the UK.

Deputy Collins referred to the Brexit unit. I will describe to him exactly what is going on in the Department. In addition to the Brexit unit I chair a fortnightly meeting which is attended by the chief executives of IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland, InterTradeIreland and whichever other groups we need to make sure we are cognisant of what is happening in the various sectors.

The Secretary General of the Department chairs another meeting with stakeholders such as the Small Firms Association and the various trade organisations, including Retail Excellence and IBEC, which is led by Danny McCoy, and various other groups to ensure that we know exactly what is happening.

The Department is conducting pilot projects across three sectoral areas and will then address a further 11 sectoral areas that will be affected by Brexit. I assure the Deputy that much work is going on. We have the very best people involved. The Secretary General attends a meeting every fortnight and I, as Minister, and others are also present at those meetings making sure that Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, InterTradeIreland all respond adequately to the Brexit challenge as well as the opportunities it presents.

All that is against a backdrop of a dedicated Department in the UK to deal with Brexit while we have a three-person unit within the Department.

It is not just a three-person unit.

That speaks volumes. State aid rules are also relevant to this question. I am concerned that the 2017 Action Plan for Jobs, a 105-page document which the Minister published recently, made no mention whatsoever of a requirement for a review of the state-aid rules. On this side of the House we consider a review of the EU state-aid rules is required. The current cap on state aid at €200,000 over a three-year period must be addressed in a comprehensive manner by the Government and the European Union. The rules must be changed in order to allow the State to help businesses to survive and withstand the impact of Brexit.

The Minister confirmed by way of reply to a parliamentary question that she attended two meetings of the National Competitiveness Council and that on no occasion were state aid rules or their revision discussed. That is most regrettable and of concern. Has the Minister made any attempt to build support or consensus from other member states to request the Directorate-General for Competition, DG COMP, within the Commission to review state aid rules, as that will be required in order to help Irish businesses to withstand Brexit?

It is very easy for Deputy Niall Collins to talk about what businesses need, but we have carried out a tailored and targeted survey with more than 1,000 businesses, to which we had a 99% response. They had different requirements. Some of them want to be more competitive, others want help with currency fluctuation and still others want access to cheaper credit so it is not all about state aid rules.

I also wish to nail the assertion that we are not prepared. I outlined to the Deputy what is happening in the Department but we also report to the Brexit committee set up by the Taoiseach. Deputy Collins said there is a special Brexit unit in the UK. We have a special Brexit unit also that is chaired by the Taoiseach. A Secretary General is dedicated to Brexit and all 14 Departments are working together. Deputy Niall Collins suggested a dedicated Minister would be the answer. He asked me who I had met and what I am doing with my counterparts in Europe. None of the other 27 countries has a Brexit Minister. If we had one, he or she would not have a corresponding Minister to meet.

None of them is as exposed as we are to Brexit. That is the important point.

Deputy Collins has made his point. The Taoiseach chairs the committee dealing with Brexit.

We are the most exposed European member state to Brexit.

Deputy Collins is making a new point now. I am willing to respond to it.

No. It is not a new point.

I refer again to the targeted and tailored survey we carried out. From the moment the referendum result was known, Enterprise Ireland contacted its 1,500 client companies. IDA Ireland did the same. InterTradeIreland is also doing wonderful work. If the Deputy looks at its website he will see exactly what it is doing. My Department and the enterprise agencies are responding well to Brexit. I assure Deputy Collins that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed, is doing exactly the same with Bord Bia.

Enterprise Support Schemes

Catherine Martin

Question:

5. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her plans to stimulate investment in sustainable enterprise; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14754/17]

This question relates to the fact that we as a country must invest in job creation in sustainable enterprises. Where is the long-term vision and plan and the joined-up interdepartmental thinking? What is the Government's plan to exploit the opportunity for thousands of jobs in the new renewable energy sectors in which it currently does not appear to be interested?

My Department, through Enterprise Ireland, EI, and the local enterprise offices, LEOs, provides a range of supports to help Irish companies start, grow and export. In particular, Enterprise Ireland's new strategy for 2017 to 2020 will support more Irish companies to achieve greater scale, to be more competitive and expand into new export markets.

The objective of the Global Ambition strategy is to support enterprises across the economy to grow into strong international companies, developing world-leading products and services and exporting them all around the world. Sustainability is an important aspect of our drive to improve company level competitiveness. As part of helping clients to compete on world markets, Enterprise Ireland assists companies to incorporate sustainable practices into the day-to-day running of their business. Areas covered include environmental management systems, energy management systems and carbon management systems. Assistance also includes templates for devising an environmental policy statement and advice on the management of a business's environmental impacts.

Companies can also undertake technical feasibility studies into environmentally superior product design. Better environmental performance leads to improved efficiencies and direct savings in energy, water and waste costs. It can also increase access to customers who are increasingly demanding more environmentally friendly products and services. Those supports will make Irish companies more sustainable, more successful and more resilient.

I thank the Minister for the information she provided on the supports and initiatives currently running in the area. To be honest, I still do not hear a comprehensive strategy. Unfortunately, the one element that is missing is ambition and we must be ambitious in this area. We need sustainability and sustainable enterprises not just to be part of the strategy, but rather the cornerstone of the Government's jobs policy. A just transition to the green economy is not only the right thing to do, but it is the smart thing to do. The Government is falling behind both other countries and the private sector.

The recent publication of the collaborative report between the International Renewable Energy Agency and the International Energy Agency commissioned by the German Government stated that, globally, we can create $10 trillion of value with 6 million new jobs by 2050. We need to seek to ramp up our national commitments to reach the goals of the Paris agreement. They are relevant not just to the Minister's colleague, Deputy Naughten, and his Department, but they are also incredibly relevant to this Minister and her Department. I do not see that joined-up thinking. This is the area in which we must grow our economy and it is where the jobs are located.

I thank Deputy Martin. Enterprise Ireland's strategy is global growth and we will continue with that. If I may say so, we are quite successful. The unemployment rate is now at 6.6%, with over 2 million people at work. In 2016, some 63,000 people went out every morning having got a new job. We are quite successful and this Minister is very ambitious, especially that jobs go to the regions and rural Ireland.

For Ireland, the green economy presents a major opportunity for employment creation and we are very aware of that aspect. Growth forecasts for the global clean, green sector are strong, amounting to over 20% per annum up to 2020 or over €2 billion in sales. Irish enterprise needs to continue to increase its share of the global market for green goods and services. In Ireland, the green economy covers activities such as sustainable food production; tourism; green financial services, as well as other green products and services; resource management; waste management; water and wastewater management; renewable energy; smart grids; and energy efficiency. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland also runs a range of programmes and schemes to assist businesses.

The Government must be much more active in helping create these new jobs in the renewable sector. Facilitating the movement of people into the sector while achieving our climate targets and fair and full employment in this country are indelibly linked. This is incredibly important for areas like the midlands, which currently has more than 3% greater unemployment than the rest of the country. The redirection of the peat public service obligation subsidy to the retrofitting industry could support more than 3,000 jobs, for example, with an average of 26 jobs per €1 million spent directly, indirectly or induced.

In creating a great economy, I suggest we must do two things. We must invest in new and renewable sectors and incentivise private businesses to do the same. We must also ensure that nobody is left behind, with new jobs created and retraining or reskilling options available to harness the wisdom and expertise of generations of people who have worked on making energy production in this country as efficient as possible. This is the new economy and we cannot afford to be left behind.

I am very aware it is the new economy. We are very ambitious and we have set targets for 2017 in job creation of 45,000 jobs. I am quietly confident we will reach that target by embracing the green economy. I agree with the Deputy that it is nothing new and it is not that I have not heard this before. It has been brought up at many of our meetings with Enterprise Ireland so as to ensure our companies are competitive, sustainable and aware of what jobs can be grown in this new economy. We will continue to do that. The Deputy indicated that there does not seem to be joined-up thinking but she should look at the eight regional action plans for jobs, as well as the new action plan for jobs for 2017. She will see a very joined-up approach in them.

Job Creation

Mattie McGrath

Question:

4. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the efforts being made to secure alternative employment for the workers at a factory (details supplied) in Nenagh, County Tipperary; her views on the standing down of ConnectIreland; if she will work with ConnectIreland in order to increase regional employment opportunities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14749/17]

We met the Minister and representatives of IDA Ireland during the week but what is she and her Department doing to deal with the onslaught being suffered in Tipperary? Most recently, we have seen losses at Coty in Nenagh and there are fears about Bord na Móna.

The questions have been moved about. What number is this?

We are going back to No. 4. It is a priority question.

I appreciate that. I was not here when the question was called initially.

We will let the Deputy away with it this time.

It is a long way to Tipperary. I hope the Minister can find it.

I apologise, as long as the Minister has some good news for me.

It is all right. I do not mind at all. The relevant State bodies will do everything possible to help the employees of this company to find new job opportunities. I have arranged that the inter-agency group, which is currently working to assist the Ranbaxy Laboratories and Suir Pharma closures, will now extend its remit to deal with the forthcoming closure in Nenagh. Earlier this week I met the Deputy and Tipperary Deputies to discuss the issue and I have arranged to meet the inter-agency group very shortly. I have spoken to the chairman of the group already.

Although the factory will not close until the end of 2018, IDA Ireland has already begun to pursue potential new investors for the site. The pipeline of new investment projects into Ireland is strong and every effort will be made to market the Nenagh facility and, of course, to also bring new jobs to the wider region. Both IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland will actively pursue job creation projects for Nenagh and the surrounding area. The announcement of the First Data project in Nenagh, which will create up to 300 jobs there, has been a significant recent success. It is notable that the former Suir Pharma premises in Clonmel has now been purchased by a new pharmaceutical operation and significant investment and job creation has been announced there.

I met the Minister and have given her a long-standing invitation to Tipperary since she took office. Unfortunately, she still has not given me a date for the visit and she is putting me off. We are getting worried that the sentiments of the old song "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" are apt for this Government. Can it not find us in Tipperary?

I know about the inter-agency group led by Mr. Joe McGrath, which was established to help after the losses at Rambaxy and Suir Pharma. There have been some successes, especially on the Suir Pharma side. The Minister mentioned First Data in Nenagh. Coty, like Merck, Sharp and Dohme in south Tipperary, is a plant that has been there for over 40 years, providing long-term employment and good jobs. It is a good company with an excellent work force. No matter what we do with inter-agency groups, when we lose a main pillar of employment in a town like Nenagh, it is devastating.

At the same time there has been an assault on ConnectIreland. The issue was raised by Deputy Niall Collins as well. We talk of ConnectIreland and connecting Tipperary but the Government is completely disconnected from rural Ireland, which is shameful. It is hiding behind a legal matter but a letter in my possession from ConnectIreland indicates there is no legal challenge in the courts at this point. It has not even entered arbitration. The statement is untrue and the Government is hiding behind it. It will be banished but the Minister should wake up and smell the coffee. The Minister should find out where Tipperary is and be down to meet us as well as the inter-agency group and local employees and employers.

I have done it before publicly but I reiterate that 63,000 jobs were created last year, with 72% of them outside Dublin. Those jobs are coming to provincial, rural and regional Ireland.

That is fictional.

The Deputy does not want to hear that. I met the Deputy on two or three occasions in my Department with various groups. We met about the Lisheen quarry project.

We have also met about the recent closure of Coty. It is regrettable. It is terrible that 200 people lost their jobs there. I assure the Deputy that we are doing our best to ensure that site will be sold to a viable customer.

In regard to the evening that the announcement was made, it was made unknown to us in the Department. We certainly did not leak it, nor did the chief executive of Tipperary County Council. I have no idea where it came from. I apologise to the employees for the way they heard that news.

Amneal has now taken over the former J&J plant in Cashel. We will be looking to make sure that more jobs go to the regions, but that is what the Regional Action Plan for Jobs is all about. Whether the Deputy likes it or not, we are having considerable success.

However, I am ambitious. I myself am from the country and I want to see more jobs going to rural and regional areas.

The leak was most regrettable. I am not blaming the Minister. If the Minister is trying to stop leaks in the Dáil, she has enough problems with Irish Water and WikiLeaks besides talking about leaks here.

The Minister needs to refocus on Tipperary, both north and south. It is a long county. It used to be served by two different regional authorities - the south east and mid-west. We are under sustained attack and it is not acceptable.

I was in Washington at the ambassador's engagement and I met the CEO of IDA Ireland. I have never met him in Ireland. One cannot meet him. IDA Ireland needs to re-jig the process and refocus, get connected and not be afraid of the coverage of ConnectIreland because it was getting some of the credit for jobs. We want the jobs. We do not care who provides them. The taxpayers' money is going into them. It is a smoke screen to say that there is a legal case with ConnectIreland. ConnectIreland has done a good job, as has Connect Tipperary, but they have been muffled and strangled at every corner. IDA Ireland needs to get off its high horse and get down and dirty.

The Minister did not hear me and other Deputies ask the delegation that attended the meeting about the site visits. She had left the meeting as she had to come to the Dáil. There were very few visits to Tipperary and the members of the delegation would not tell us where or what plants were visited. Why the secrecy? We want jobs. We want industries brought to Tipperary to show them the road network and other excellent facilities serving Tipperary, including the IT, and above all, the excellent workforce that we have on offer. We need that to happen rather than wringing of hands and saying that there is an action plan. We need action. We need the Minister to get connected the way Tipperary is and be down to us soon, not putting me off every time I ask her to visit. One gets tired of asking.

Some 3,368 jobs are supported by IDA Ireland in Tipperary. The Deputy has not even mentioned Enterprise Ireland. They support 5,352 jobs there.

The Minister is now like a schoolteacher lecturing.

Deputy Mattie McGrath does not want to hear anything. All he wants to do is shout.

Let the Minister speak.

The LEOs in Tipperary support 1,437 jobs.

Deputy McGrath stated he has not met IDA Ireland. I beg the Deputy's pardon. The Deputy met IDA Ireland in my office at least two or three times.

Did the Deputy inquire to meet the CEO?

I did not know that. That is the Deputy's business and his.

Deputy McGrath is also raising ConnectIreland in another question about Tipperary. I dealt with ConnectIreland. I believe there is another question coming about ConnectIreland and I will have more to time to address that issue.

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