asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the number of jobs which materialised from his announcement on Wednesday, 27 June 1984 regarding £1 million small industry investment to create 100 jobs over two years.
Ceisteanna—Questions Oral Answers. - Small Industry Investment.
11.
I presume the Deputy is referring to an announcement of 29 June 1984 which related to an investment of £1 million in ten companies — four new small industries and six existing companies — from which it was hoped to create 97 jobs over two years in Louth, Cavan and Monaghan. I am advised by the IDA that so far approximately 45 of these jobs did materialise, of which 35 are still in existence. I am further advised that one of the companies which was expected to create an additional 15 jobs through expansion did not do so and has, in fact, ceased operations. The IDA will continue to monitor progress on the realisation of the remainder of the projected jobs.
Could the Minister tell the House the portion of the £1 million which has been allocated?
I am sorry, Deputy, I am looking for that information. I understand that grants were paid to a number of companies which would support a job level of 97 and that only 35 jobs are now in existence. If the Deputy is suggesting that ratio is disappointing and something which could not be continued, I would agree with him.
I am certainly suggesting that. The expense for each of those jobs was £10,000 in the first instance. It is probably double that amount now. Would the Minister not agree that since that time there have been a number of valuable industries in that area which, had they been assisted to the same extent or grant aided, would have provided more jobs?
The whole question of the rate of conversion of job approval to actual job creation is one of which I think we are all aware. While I fully accept that in the real world not all jobs approved materialise on the ground, I equally accept that a performance rate of only 35 per cent of the jobs promised is not satisfactory.
There was a difficulty about preparing the reply to this question in that the Deputy's original question gave a date in January for the announcement while I presume the Deputy refers to an announcement which was made in June. By the time we found the actual announcement to which the Deputy referred, I could not get full information on the amounts of grants paid or the kind of detail which one normally would have in reply to a Parliamentary Question.
The Government are not up to the job situation.
The question gave an incorrect date. There have been many announcements. There is usually one announcement a week from the IDA.
With no results.
This announcement was made on 27 June 1984, not on 27 January as stated in the original question.
I want to move on to the next question, Deputy. Deputy Flynn has a question coming up and this is unfair, Deputy.
Would the Minister not agree that it is time we changed this system of picking figures out of the sky and making announcements of hundreds of jobs which are not materialising? Would he not agree that it is a dishonest system? It would help to get down to realities and give a realistic figure, or a realistic assessment of the situation.
I do not agree at all with the Deputy. It is Government policy now to operate a clawback of grants. It is Government policy now to get guarantees from parent companies to repay grants if job figures are not realised.
A poor performance.