Vol. 374 No. 1
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the number of jobs which are being cut in the IDA; the measures which are being taken to ensure that the IDA's job creation role is not jeopardised by the cuts; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
41.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will outline the activities of the IDA which are likely to be curtailed as a result of the recent announcement that 100 jobs are to be lost in that organisation; if he will confirm, that notwithstanding the cuts involved, none of the IDA's local or regional offices are likely to be closed down; whether any overseas operations are likely to be affected; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Question No. 35 and Priority Question No. 41 together.
Since this Government came into office, we have stressed the overriding importance of getting order into the public finances. Without such order there would have been a continued outflow of capital from the economy, high interest rates, an unstable exchange rate and a continued deterioration in the national debt/GNP ratio. Such an environment would not have been conducive to investment and employment generation. The improved fiscal and monetary climate, created by this Government, will stimulate investor confidence and greater economic activity and thus contribute much more successfully to the creation of new employment and the maintenance of existing employment. It is important that in the national interest all sectors of the economy contribute to this policy goal. The Industrial Development Authority can be no exception. I am satisfied that with an improved environment and a much more concentrated approach to industrial development, as outlined in the Programme for National Recovery, there will be no diminution in the effectiveness of the Authority's job creation role.
The IDA currently employ 665 people. It is likely that, in addition to the normal turnover of employees, voluntary redundancy will be offered to around 70 employees.
I am at present having discussions with the Authority about what changes may be necessary to the organisation's structures and activities to ensure that they are not only properly focused but can perform their functions within their 1988 allocations. I am not in a position to say at this stage what precise changes will be implemented or what activities may be curtailed or eliminated.
The question of the appropriate location for IDA offices is an operational matter which relates to the day to day administration of industrial policy and is not therefore a matter which comes within my competence.
A number of changes have already been introduced into our industrial policy which should ensure that we create more jobs at less cost to the taxpayer. These include the establishment of performance criteria and the linking of State aid more directly to employment and value added in the economy, a shift in State aid away from supporting fixed assets to meeting specific weaknesses in Irish industry in the areas of marketing, product development, R & D and management expertise, the promotion of overseas investment that will provide greater linkages in the local economy and finally a more rationalised structure in which the various promotional agencies operate.
In view of the fact that the Minister said in reply to a previous question that the number of job opportunities arising from the IDA has been declining, and that earlier in the year he said the pipeline was getting dry, does he consider it to be a wise move to ask this organisation to cut 100 jobs at a time when he and his Government are claiming that they will increase job numbers? They set what I consider to be very ambitious targets for the next number of years. I believe they will have great difficulty in realising those targets. In view of this, how can the Minister justify an organisation, which I believe he respects and which I know have done a very good job down the years, cutting back their numbers at a time when we need them so badly to increase job opportunities? Despite all the Minister has said in his reply, how can he justify cutting back on these job numbers when these are the people who are in charge of attracting jobs into this country?
As I said, the IDA, as a semi-State agency, can be no exception to the treatment dished out to every other agency. Second, I am not satisfied with the job ratio in the IDA at home to those employed in their offices around the world. Third, I am not satisfied that any agency should be immune from restructuring at a time when money must be saved. I am satisfied that there is fat in every organisation and it is my responsibility on behalf of the Government to rout out that fat. That does not suggest that the effectiveness of the IDA will be diminished in any way. In fact, they can be a more effective and efficient organisation at the end of the day.
If the Minister is so convinced that there is fat in this organisation to the extent of 20 per cent over-employment, should he not look to management and ensure that heads roll at the top?
The Authority in conjunction with management will be making proposals for my approval later in the month. What I am interested in at the end of the day is an effective, slim organisation that will in no way be diminished in their objectives. In case the Tánaiste has any worries about the cutbacks——
The Tánaiste is abroad.
The former Tánaiste — let me remind the Deputy that the pipeline was dry for the first six months this year as a result of the critical position in which the previous Government left the economy.
The Minister is not answering my question.
The pipeline is only beginning to fill up now and that is why the IDA will not need as much money in 1988——
There will be fewer people doing more work.
If there were no approvals in the first half of this year money will not be needed to pay grants. That is the reality. I can assure the House and Deputy Spring that no project will be left out either this year or next year for want of investment.
What will the Minister use for money?
