Michael Finucane
Question:12 Mr. Finucane asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce when the SFADCo annual report for 1988 was presented to him; and when the 1989 report will be available.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - SFADCo Annual Report.
SFADCo's annual report for 1988 was received by my Department on 15 November 1989. It was laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas on 21 December 1989.
I have asked SFADCo to submit their annual report for 1989 to me as early as possible so that it may be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas well before the end of this year.
Would the Minister agree that there is one element missing from the reports of SFADCo and the Industrial Development Authority, that is, information on what grants were approved in a specific year and on total grants to date? One of the most pertinent questions which could be asked of those two bodies relates to job creation. As there is no reference to the number of jobs created, would the Minister ensure that this is rectified in future reports as it is usual in reports to make some reference to the net number of jobs created? We have been given no information on the jigsaw or a breakdown of the figure. Can the Minister rectify this? In regard to SFADCo, doubt exists in the mid-west in relation to their future role and current investigations——
The Deputy is extending out of all proportion the scope of this question.
On the part of the supplementaries that are relevant, the annual report of SFADCo as well as the annual reports of the IDA give full details on the amounts of grants paid in the year under review. I have the report in question for 1988 here and there are many pages of details of each individual grant paid in that year and the cumulative total of payments of grants to each of those companies up to the end of that year.
No. 13, please.
I do not differ from the Minister on this, but regarding the grant component would it not be very relevant to put down the figure for jobs created in the 1988 and subsequent reports?
I believe they do that, and that is set out in the report; but the Deputy should bear in mind that it is usually the practice of bodies such as this in effect to issue two reports, one the formal statutory report which they can issue only after their accounts have been audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General and which happens some months after the end of the year in question. At the actual end of the year it is usually the practice of agencies of this kind to issue reports on matters like job creation and related matters in the year that has just ended. If you take the two of them together there is no lack of information. SFADCo are particularly adept at broadcasting these figures.
Would the Minister agree that a period of 11 months is far too long for a report of this nature to reach the House? What steps is he taking to ensure that the 1989 report will be available, say, by the end of June at the very latest?
I agree it is too long. As I said in the reply, I have asked SFADCo to submit their 1989 report to me at a much earlier date this year with a view to my laying it before the Oireachtas.
In view of the unease being expressed about the future of SFADCo, particularly in the mid-west, will the Minister confirm that we will have annual reports from SFADCo well into the next century?
I am sure we will.
We will have no further annual report next year?