asked the Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism the total square footage of unoccupied factory floor space in County Mayo; the location of these factories; the length of time they have been unoccupied; and the steps he proposes to attract much needed new industrial products to this area.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Mayo Factory Site.
12.
I am informed that there is a total of approximately 191,000 sq. ft. of factory space available in County Mayo for industrial development. The details sought by the Deputy are set out in the tabular statement which I propose to circulate in the Official Report.
The IDA will continue to actively promote these facilities for suitable industrial projects.
Vacant Factories in Co. Mayo.
|
Location |
size |
Date Completed |
|
sq.ft. |
||
|
Ballina |
27,000 |
November 1981 |
|
Ballina |
2 ×750 |
March 1984 |
|
Ballina |
3,600 |
July 1981 |
|
Ballina (Private Finance) |
28,000 |
June 1982 |
|
Ballyhaunis |
20,700 |
November 1982 |
|
Bangor-Erris |
5,300 |
August 1982 |
|
Castlebar |
27,600 |
April 1981 |
|
Castlebar |
1 ×750 |
March 1984 |
|
Foxford |
7,700 |
November 1982 |
|
Westport |
21,700 |
May 1979 |
|
Ballinrobe (Private Finance) |
22,000 |
June 1982 |
|
Kiltimagh |
25,000 |
March 1980 |
|
Total |
190,850 |
Would the Minister agree——
Where was the Deputy yesterday? He was not in Westport.
I was trying to do the Minister's job by visiting Cork in the hope of attracting industry to that area. Would the Minister agree that in an area such as Mayo which down through the years has been depressed and disadvantaged, the availability of almost 200,000 square feet of unoccupied factory space is a matter that calls for the taking of drastic action? Is the Minister aware also that the population imbalance in County Mayo is due to the fact that this space has remained unoccupied and because there has been no major industrial development in the area in the past ten years?
This is a long question.
Would the Minister not agree that in these circumstances Mayo deserves priority treatment?
What about such places as Cork and Kerry?
All I can say to the Deputy, whoever he is, is that we have a responsibility to the whole country.
Fianna Fáil are asking for priority for Mayo.
When was Deputy Molony in Tipperary last? It is rumoured that he has not been seen there since the plan was announced.
Have Fianna Fáil no regard for such places as Cork, Kerry or Tipperary?
Deputy Molony must desist from interrupting.
The Minister should put the Deputy to bed.
I am astounded to hear of this official Fianna Fáil policy of priority for Mayo.
Will Deputy Molony please allow business to continue?
As Deputy Flynn is aware, County Mayo has been designated for the highest level of grant since the foundation of the IDA. That is in recognition of the regional disadvantages from which the county suffers in terms of distance from markets and so on. The effect of this is to be found in the fact that unemployment levels in Mayo have not been increasing at as high a level as those in other parts of the country, for instance in the five-year period up to January 1984, unemployment in Mayo increased by 64 per cent as against a national average of almost 135 per cent. For the calendar year 1983, while the national average for unemployment was 16 per cent the increase in unemployment in Mayo was 5 per cent. Despite those figures there remains a considerable unemployment problem in the area. Increasingly in Mayo as elsewhere, there is a desire on the part of the people concerned to help themselves. What was being acknowledged by the function which took place in Westport yesterday was what can be done by people in the county to help themselves in establishing not only workers' co-operatives but enterprise centres. I take this opportunity of complimenting the people involved in that local initiative and also the people of the area generally for the efforts they are making, with State assistance, to help themselves.
The Minister's figures would suggest that Mayo has not suffered in terms of unemployment to the same extent as have other parts of the country but would he accept that the reason for the figures being somewhat lower than for other parts of the country is that there was always rampant emigration from Mayo and that, even after a lull, it was easy for that trend to recommence? I would point out to the Minister that almost 200,000 square feet of empty factory space, together with an unemployment figure of 7,000 which is made up in the main of people in the under 25 age group, is causing a serious imbalance in the population structure in the county. It is necessary, not only to congratulate those who are trying to help themselves but to create a climate in which it will be easier for people to take such initiatives on a wide scale.
The Deputy is not entitled to make long statements at Question Time.
Is the Minister aware that it would be possible to get as big a grant for the setting up of a small industry in the heart of this city as it would be in the case of an industry in Mayo?
The Deputy is referring to a position that arises in the context of a decision taken relating to a certain area. That decision was made by the Deputy's party and by a Member of the House but I have no wish to comment further on it.
This sort of policy is murdering investment so far as Mayo is concerned.
I do not think that is correct. The success of a number of small entrepreneurs in establishing business in Mayo indicates the contrary. One could regard the 191,000 square feet of factory space as an indication of the recessionary times we are living in but it can be regarded also in another way, that is, as a major State investment in Mayo which offers an opportunity for any industrialist wishing to establish there. Any such person would have no problem in terms of suitable premises. I am confident that the significant investment which this factory space represents will bear considerable fruit in the near future because there has been a quickening of interest in investment in all parts of the country. I am confident that much of this space will be filled within the next 12 months.
Would the Minister accept that the time has come for the Government and particularly for him as Minister to take a closer look at the possibility of co-ordinating the efforts of the various State organisations so as to promote our natural resources to a greater extent and in that way enable us to provide a lot more local employment?
That is precisely what the White Paper on Industrial Policy suggests should be done. I have initiated a management committee on industrial policy with a view to achieving exactly what the Deputy is asking for. I agree entirely that the business person needs to have one place to which he can go for advice and assistance instead of having to approach a number of State agencies. I am confident that arrangements will be made in the near future to redress that situation.
I wonder why the Minister has such a soft spot for Westport.
I wish he had a soft spot, too, for Tipperary.
There are a number of reasons for that.