asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he is aware of the critical unemployment situation in Bray and district, County Wicklow; and if he will state the action the Government is taking to resolve the situation.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Wicklow Unemployment.
21.
I am aware of the unemployment situation in the Bray area.
In so far as industrial employment is concerned the Industrial Development Authority have been giving priority to Bray in their industrial promotional activities. The Deputy will be aware that a substantial new project with an employment potential of 433 jobs was approved earlier this year and this project has already commenced production. I have also been informed by the authority that they have approved five small projects during the year which will give rise to over 60 further jobs. There are, in addition, 180 jobs still to come on stream from two other approved projects which started in recent years as these two projects build up to their full potential.
The Industrial Development Authority have informed me that they are continuing to promote Bray actively for further industrial development.
Could the Minister inform me in how many recent IDA promotional itineraries has Bray and district been included?
I do not see that information here and I do not recall it but, if the Deputy puts down a question or approaches me directly, I shall certainly get it for him.
I will certainly put down a question because my information is contrary to that of the Minister. Can the Minister tell me when these 433 jobs will be available. Is it estimated in three years' time?
I cannot give the Deputy the exact time of take up of that project but the project was secured in March of this year. The first production has started. It is a project with very high technology. It is a very good industrial project and I would, therefore, consider it would certainly be a matter of years, probably of the order of three years, before it will be in full production. On the other hand, there is, of course, the coming on of a stream of projects established in the past which are expected to provide 180 jobs during the current year.
Surely this was announced with a great fanfare in America not so long ago that people should be able to recall how long it would take for these jobs to become available. Is the Minister aware that there are at present 1,700 registered at the employment exchange in Bray, apart from school leavers who are not registered, and the Minister has not given me any indication of what steps he is taking to protect existing jobs? He must be aware of a dire situation in one of the mainstays of the town.
A brief question, please.
I mentioned one new project and five small projects plus 180 jobs to come on stream from two other approved projects. The Deputy is surely aware of the recognition by the IDA of the problem there and my recognition of it in that the effort was made to establish this project there. There was a firm of 600 maximum which did not decide to proceed, but there is another. Everybody is sorry that projects like that do not mature and the fact that priority is given to Bray is an indicaion of the recognition by the IDA and by me of the seriousness of the problem. I have to emphasise, since the question is a general one, that my responsibility is to answer questions which relate to industry.
Would the Minister not agree that the information he gives me about the IDA having Bray as a priority area is completely contradictory to the opinion expressed by the county development team in Wicklow and will he further state that one of the firms in Bray is in dire trouble at the moment, listed as one of those among the projects that are going to deliver 180 jobs? The fact is that the firm is letting people go and further redundancies are, unfortunately, coming.
I am not so aware.
Is the Minister aware of what is happening in the town at all?
The remaining questions will appear on tomorrow's Order Paper.