I wish to share one minute of my time with Deputy Richard Bruton.
Adjournment Debate. - Proposed South Tipperary Industrial Project.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
The headlines in the local newspapers in County Tipperary in recent weeks make tragic reading. A month ago there were banner headlines promising over 1,200 jobs for the former Digital plant in the town of Clonmel. However, last week the shock realisation that the company which was going to bring these jobs is instead locating in Scotland was highlighted and the bottom line is that it will be at least three months before there is any prospect of renewed investment interest by this company in this country.
This is a tragic story. It stems entirely from the disgraceful behaviour of the South Tipperary Deputy and Labour Chief Whip, Michael Ferris, who on 10 May last rushed into print on details of the promised 1,200 jobs and a £200 million investment for Clonmel. He said that the company responsible was AST Research and, he asserted, "a contract has been concluded" between that company and the IDA for the project. I quote that because within the past week, when it was clear that problems had arisen, Deputy Ferris claimed he had not said a contract was agreed between AST and IDA. The facts, of course, are that on May 10 no contract was concluded between the IDA and the American company and that negotiations were at a very delicate stage.
Furthermore, I understand that not only was the IDA furious regarding the publication by Deputy Ferris of sensitive data in relation to this project, but the American company was also appalled. However, the real tragedy in so far as this country and the jobless of Clonmel and South Tipperary in particular are concerned, is that Deputy Ferris' mishandling of the issue alerted the Scottish Development Agency, the IRB in Northern Ireland and the Tandy computer company to the enormous investment potential that AST had. It renewed its overtures to the Californian company, and the upshot now is that AST is not coming to Clonmel or to Ireland, but is instead investing in Kilbride in Scotland, where it has bought the Tandy computer plant and has purchased outright the Tandy company. This has meant its calling off of its imminent plans to come to Ireland and a declaration that it will not be renewing any interest in this country for three months at least. Of course, I hope it will be back in three months' time and I wish the IDA every success in trying to win investment in Ireland by AST.
However, the bottom line is that whereas a month ago AST was poised to locate its European manufacturing base in Ireland, it is now doing this in Kilbride, Scotland. The reason this abrupt turn-about has occurred is due to the irresponsible, misleading and premature disclosure of the matter by Deputy Ferris. In short, Deputy Ferris has sabotaged a top class electronics operation promising over 1,200 jobs for the town of Clonmel and the company involved is instead commencing operations in Scotland.
Even more culpable than Deputy Ferris, however, is the person responsible for leaking to him the highly secret, commercially sensitive and very restricted information which the Deputy sought to use for cheap political gain.
In an era when we have a Supreme Court judgment on the secrecy that must surround Cabinet documentation and decision-making and when we have an Official Secrets Act, it is quite plain that whoever leaked this information to Deputy Ferris was in serious breach of Government regulations and probably is guilty of a direct breach of the law.
It is interesting that when Deputy Ferris was queried by the media last month about the reliability of his information he claimed that he had "impeccable sources". I want to ask the Minister for Enterprise and Employment who were these sources, and can the Minister give this House an assurance that, neither directly nor indirectly, was he the "impeccable source" claimed by his party colleague. I want a categorical assurance from the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Deputy Quinn, that at no stage did he disclose any of the details surrounding the proposed investment by AST to his South Tipperary colleague. It is important to note that Deputy Ferris went public with details of the proposed project before it was considered by the Cabinet, so the number of people who were privy to the information which he used in the public arena was very limited indeed.
This episode has been damaging to the IDA and the reputation of this country as a location for international mobile investment. The company concerned, AST, was particularly appalled by the use of the figure of £202.8 million in relation to its affairs. However, this is a heartbreaking development for the people of Clonmel and South Tipperary, given that a top class electronics project with over 1,200 jobs, and the many service jobs this would generate in the surrounding area, are not going to materialise now and about which there must be a grave risk in the longer term also.
Deputy Theresa Ahearn also wishes to speak. This is more than a story of political opportunism gone wrong. It is a case where confidentiality, which is the absolute precondition for the IDA dealing with companies, has been breached at the highest level. We must pray that the Clonmel project goes ahead, but AST now has a similar plant in Scotland and it has left Ireland with a sour taste about the manner in which it has been handled and there is a fear that the development agency in Scotland will exploit this.
I share the sentiments expressed by Deputy Bruton and hopefully the Minister will succeed and obtain good news for Clonmel. I do not wish to apportion blame. I work with Deputy Ferris, who does good work for the people in South Tipperary. Nevertheless, this was sad news for Clonmel and I hope this matter will be successfully resolved by the Minister.
I should begin by pointing out to the Deputies that negotiations on large scale industrial investments are at all times ongoing with many potential inward investment promoters. Such negotiations of their nature are a two-way process with both sides seeking mutual agreement. In such a dynamic process investors constantly update and review their investment strategies, based, as they must be, on developing market trends and financial resources. This is particularly the case in the electronics sector where such forces are especially volatile.
This is the background against which all such negotiations take place. The IDA in competing for such mobile investment must have the capability, flexibility and resources to succeed. All will agree that IDA has been to the fore in attracting such mobile investment. Others have followed our example with the result that competition for such projects is now particularly intense. I am sure that we are all in agreement that our objective is to maintain our full support for this important task. We should not seek by political means to intrude or undermine ongoing negotiations between IDA and any particular investor.
In regard to the particular project raised by the Deputies, I must point out that it is premature and, to say the least, damaging to infer that "the project will not go ahead as previously planned", which is implicit in what Deputy Cullen has proposed. This is a significant project requiring detailed evaluation and negotiation. It is complicated by the dynamics of the sector, which is consolidating after an explosive growth phase. Sectoral developments impact on all players, requiring continuous evaluation of proposed investments.
That note was prepared for me in anticipation of what Deputy Cullen might responsibly say. I wish to add the following points. I want to assure the House that no action taken by any Deputy or Senator, in Government, in Opposition or on the backbenches, has in any way endangered this project. Tragically, the way in which Deputy Cullen has sought to highlight and politicise this incident has not been helpful. I have been in contact with the IDA and it has assured me that the details that emerged, which perhaps were premature but nevertheless accurate, did not in any way alter the fact that the AST Corporation was in sustained and substantial negotiations with the Tandy Corporation about which they did not inform the IDA. If I may so infer, the Chair has a direct constituency interest in this matter. The position now is a follows.
The agreement between the Government and this particular company, following an agreement that was arrived at with the IDA and the company, still stands. Because the company had, independently, received an opportunity to purchase another particular competitor in, as my statement said, a rapidly changing market, they availed of that opportunity. They sought and have received from the IDA a space of 90 days within which to consider the offer that is on the table from the IDA on behalf of the Irish taxpayers. All of us hope they will proceed with the arrangement that was negotiated and agreed as per the information that is now public knowledge. Regrettably, the way in which this has now been politicised in the most extraordinary competitive manner by Deputy Cullen, who is not in the constituency——
That is an outrageous suggestion. The Minister should talk to his own colleagues.
——and who, unlike Deputy Ahearn or others, has no constituency interest in this matter whatsoever and therefore can only be politically motivated.
I have a constituency interest in the matter. That is ridiculous nonsense.
The Labour Party doth protest too much.
Deputy Cullen has not assisted the matter. I want to repeat and confirm from the information I have received today from the IDA that at no stage did the announcement — and this project has been announced by half a dozen different public representatives——
That is not the view of the IDA and it is not the view of the company.
The Deputy should listen to the reply.
At no stage did this announcement in any way affect the fact that this company had the opportunity and were negotiating the purchase of another company.
No reference to the leak.
Perhaps the Deputy will reveal his sources.
Where did the information come from?
The five minutes reply at this time does not lend itself to interruptions of any kind.
The Minister is leaving many questions unanswered.
Deputy Gay Mitchell gave me notice of his intention to raise a matter. I do not observe the Deputy and I am proceeding to another matter.