asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he has any industrial proposals for seven vacant factories in County Donegal at Ardara, Fintown, Carndonagh, Letterkenny, Lifford and two at Ballybofey.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Donegal Factories.
6.
I am informed that discussions are continuing with a number of the industrial promoters who have been brought to visit the extensive facilities which are available in Country Donegal. No firm proposals have been received to date for the vacant factories.
I understand that of the seven factories listed by the Deputy two are privately owned and the remaining five are owned by the IDA and Gaeltarra Éireann. One of the advance factories, at Letterkenny, is not in fact vacant, having been leased to a firm which recently opened a major textile plant in the town.
All of the available facilities are being actively promoted by the IDA and by Gaeltarra Éireann.
The Parliamentary Secretary holds out no hope of coming to the aid of a distressed county when the city of Dublin which was formerly over-developed is now a distressed area and we are left with a spread of vacant factories? Is he aware that the factory to which he refers as having been leased has been given temporarily as office accommodation to Courtaulds and it is by no means a factory?
What I said was that no firm proposals had been received to date for the vacant factories. In most cases tentative negotiations are going on with various firms. In all cases industrialists have been brought to visit these factories to see if they are suitable.
Does the Parliamentary Secretary agree that the futility and pretence of announcing 13 new advance factories the other day does not fit into a picture where we have seven factories vacant for which no firm can be found to employ even a small staff?
I would not agree that the advance factory programme is futile as the Deputy seems to suggest. We have attracted many industries to this country in the very recent past which would not have come here but for the fact that we have advance factories available. I have no doubt that all these advance factories will be filled in due course and as quickly as possible. There is no possibility of ensuring that every advance factory is occupied immediately it is built. Clearly, it takes some time to fill such factories. There would be no point in an advance factory programme if one did not envisage that in some cases it would take some time to have them in production.
I agree with the Parliamentary Secretary when he says that they were filled in the past and that they will be filled in the future but this will be done by a different Government.