Vol. 544 No. 3
81 Mr. Perry asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment her plans for reviewing the role of the development agencies in catalysing and servicing task forces; the additional funds which will be allocated; and if she will make a statement on the matter [28835/01.]
The practice of establishing task forces to deal with the fall-out from major company closures and job losses has developed over the past six years. The mechanism has been used to ensure a prompt and effective co-ordinated response by State agencies and other interests to the job losses arising with particular emphasis on training and retraining and securing alternative employment opportunities for workers affected. State agencies, local authority, industry and worker interests have generally constituted the membership of the task forces.
I am currently reviewing the effectiveness of task forces. My Department has consulted the relevant State agencies about the operation of task forces, including the agency role and the use of task forces as an effective mechanism for dealing with major company closures and job losses. I expect to receive an early submission from my officials on this matter following which decisions will be made.
With regard to funding for task forces, the State agencies do not generally have a specific current or capital budget line for such purposes in the annual Estimates allocation. State funding requirements, arising from the administrative costs of task forces and the implementation of task force recommendations, are met from the overall Estimates resource allocations to the agencies and other bodies involved. Ring-fenced funding for integrated development packages has not been considered necessary.
Will the Tánaiste reconsider redefining the role of enterprise boards within each county which are totally under-funded? Sligo enterprise board received £304,000 by way of allocation this year as compared with £345,000 last year – part of which is repayable for job creation in the region. Will the Tánaiste consider increasing, through the Estimates for her Department, the budget of enterprise boards?
We have, as the Deputy is aware, a very difficult budgetary situation this year. We must seek to strike a balance and deal with priorities. I am concerned about the plethora of bodies which we have on the ground. We have county enterprise boards, county development boards and State agencies. What we seek to do, and must continue to do, is to bring more things together. This could be done under the umbrella of the county development boards which, although in their infancy, are beginning to work extremely well. Co-ordination is important. We are a small country with limited resources and we must co-ordinate how taxpayers' money is spent.
Would the Tánaiste not agree, in light of the announcement of major closures, that the success of this economy has been small companies? Would she further agree that the enterprise boards, which deal with companies employing one to ten staff, are totally under-funded and that small companies are being left to hang out to dry as a result? Would the Tánaiste consider refocusing on job creation in small companies in light of the fact that they are the ones that will survive?
Small companies are extremely important. The bulk of companies, as Deputy Perry mentioned, are small companies.
They receive no funding.
However, the bulk of the wealth generated here and the exports generating this economy are, in relative terms, the medium to large-scale companies. Industry in this country does extremely well by way of grant aid, supports and a very attractive tax regime. I do not think we fall behind others in the support we give. There are difficulties because of the plethora of bodies and agencies. Perhaps, in the context of future developments, we need to look at how we can better co-ordinate activities to assist small companies. One thing is certain, when one has regimes one will have plenty of companies that want to exploit and use them. There are many examples of where some companies are clearly much better at what I call "grant shopping" than others. It is a question of having an effective and accessible system that is not over-bureaucratic. That is particularly important for very small companies that do not have huge numbers of people to assist them with applications and so on.
Would the Tánaiste consider setting up a template for development in each county which would facilitate the setting up of a task force at a day's notice?
As I said in my reply, I am currently reviewing task forces, some of which have been stood down and others which have remained in place because the group recommended they do so to oversee the implementation of recommendations. We do not want a country littered with State bodies of one kind or another because, in addition to the fact that it is a waste of resources, it is very confusing and places a huge burden on the personnel who have to service and work with the various groups. I accept Deputy Perry's point regarding co-ordination.
