I am grateful to the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this important matter. Will the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment be here to take it?
Adjournment Debate. - Job Creation.
The Chair does not have an indication of which Minister will take it.
The town and county of Monaghan have in recent times experienced a succession of closures and job losses which have had a severe impact on an already marginalised and disadvantaged local economy. Some 300 people lost their jobs with the closure of Monaghan Poultry Products and we lost 70 or more jobs in our local jeans factory, Montex. The closure of other traditional employment opportunities in the Monaghan town area, such as Patton's Mill following a devastating fire and McCaldins and Lavery's bakeries and, although it happened some years ago, the closure of the traditional pig processing plants, Castlebar and Grahams AIBP, have all contributed to a growing despair in our community. Without any new or replacement industries, inward investment, Government decentralisation or peace dividend, the Border county has been wilfully neglected by successive Governments and the so-called Celtic tiger.
Time does not permit me to detail the symptoms of economic neglect which are evident in my county and a direct result of Government inaction. County Monaghan has a high dependency on a declining agricultural sector and is overly reliant on traditional industry, such as primary processing, furniture and general engineering. It has a weak infrastructure, a poorly developed tourism sector and the lowest take-up of third level education of the 26 counties. Its per capita income is below the national average.
I have engaged with surviving players in industry in the north County Monaghan area believing that we must depend on our own genius and entrepreneurship to stop the haemorrhage of valued employment and set the area on course for new industrial opportunities. I have placed before the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Harney, a proposal to revitalise the economy of north County Monaghan. There is an agreed need to both encourage and facilitate new business ideas. Many existing manufacturing plants started out as home based or small site enterprises and have outgrown the potential of their locations. Natural expansion and new job creation have been curtailed by site restrictions. Access to and from many of these industries is restricted and unsuitable and encroaches on an already choked and limited urban infrastructure.
The establishment of a Monaghan business park would aid relocation and the realisation of full expansion and employment potential. It would mould together the collective experience of many business families, individuals and managements and afford each other and new players critical backup, encouragement and expertise. It would facilitate new business ventures and help establish a marketing tool of excellence. I affirm there is an extensive interest in the proposition and an across the board acceptance of the good sense of such an initiative. To assist, encourage and facilitate the establishment of Monaghan business park and ensure its successful launch and development, I have requested the Minister's favourable consideration of the key element in the proposition, namely, the approval of a special tax designation or incentive to relocate, expand or establish on the site.
I express my disappointment at the lack of response from the Minister to this constructive proposal. I have received only an acknowledge ment to my letter of 7 November last and have had subsequent oral exchanges with the Minister in the House. Yesterday the other Monaghan Oireachtas Members, Monaghan County Council elected representatives and executive members and I met the Minister. I did not note an awareness of the pressing need to address the experiences and restrictions faced by existing manufacturing entities. I hope I am wrong, although others from the delegation also commented on it. There was no real understanding of commitment to the employment needs of County Monaghan detected on the Minister's part. I hope the Minister of State will convey to the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment that I wish to be proven wrong.
I understand that an announcement on the location of a significant inward investor in this country, Associated Packaging Enterprises, employing more than 100 people is imminent. The prospective location is Carrickmacross, but there is dismay in County Monaghan at reports that this project may be diverted to another location in this State, and it is alleged for purely party political electoral advantage. If true, this would be an outrage. I hope the Minister and the IDA will ensure that the Carrickmacross site will yet win the day.
I assure the Deputy that the Government, through our enterprise development agencies, is committed to ensuring the most equitable distribution of job opportunities and to encouraging the establishment of industry in all our regions. A key factor in the achievement of this objective, and a primary objective of this Government, is the creation of a business environment in which job opportunities continue to flourish and, equally, in which job applicants have the requisite skills requirements. Deputy Ó Caoláin must accept that the environment in Northern Ireland for the past 30 years was not conducive to getting investment into the Border region. We worked assiduously over many years to bring peace to the whole island and are confident that we have now created the business environment in which investment can be delivered to all parts of our country.
In line with commitments in the national development plan, the enterprise development agencies are strongly focused on achieving this aim and resources are being deployed to reflect this new focus. The new 12.5% corporation tax rate and initiatives on matters such as education, physical infrastructure and technology under the national development plan, allow Ireland to remain competitive both in developing indigenous industry and securing inward investment projects. Since we came into office in 1997, we have reduced corporation tax from 40% to an agreed 12.5% across the board. In an effort to ensure the objective of balanced regional development will be achieved, IDA Ireland has, through Government direction, over the past 18 months radically changed its policy with a commitment to delivering half of all new green field jobs into the Objective One regions in the coming years. The IDA is working to benefit the entire Border region and, in particular, towns such as Monaghan.
Part of this strategy included the establishment of an IDA regional office in Cavan to increase its focus and marketing efforts in the mid-Border areas, of which Monaghan is a part. There are currently six IDA Ireland assisted companies in County Monaghan, employing more than 430 people, including Bose Products, Containers and Pressure Vessels Limited and Gernord Limited. Allied to IDA job creation initiatives, Enterprise Ireland and the county enterprises boards are also actively promoting the development of indigenous enterprises and they have been successful in creating very good and enduring employment throughout the region.
There are currently 164 Enterprise Ireland assisted companies in County Monaghan, which employ more than 4,300 people. These are in a range of sectors, mainly manufacturing in the food processing, timber and furniture and engineering sectors. The natural resource based sector, which includes food processing, dominates among Enterprise Ireland client companies in the north east. Some of the major companies in County Monaghan include Barford Meats Limited, Kingspan GSP Limited, Lissadell Towels Limited and Rye Valley Foods Limited. In the company of the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, Deputy O'Hanlon, I visited some of these companies during my term of office.
The current strategy of the Enterprise Ireland's regional office in Dundalk is centred on the further development of the county's food processing sector, particularly that of prepared consumer food products, a market segment which is growing at 13% annually. The development of an integrated food enterprise park at Lough Egish is seen as the core of a food industry cluster in the region, which is anticipated will copperfasten County Monaghan's excellent reputation in the production of quality foodstuffs for export markets. Discussions are under way with Bord Gáis Éireann on the commercial viability of extending the natural gas pipeline from Kingscourt to Lough Egish.
The food enterprise park, emanating from a model partnership between the community, the private sector and State agencies, currently employs more than 300 people. Kozy Shack Enterprises Inc. of the US has commenced production in the Lough Egish food park, Castleblaney, County Monaghan, to manufacture and supply chilled desserts to European markets. Combi Lift won the prestigious Ernst and Young entrepreneur of the year award in November, 2001, and now goes on to the world final in Monte Carlo in April next.
Enterprise Ireland recognises the essential need for balanced regional economic development and its regional structure reflects the commitment to deliver a proactive response to regional needs. The north east regional office of Enterprise Ireland deals principally with companies that employ more than ten people. The special needs of these businesses are addressed by regionally based development advisors who provide a proactive approach to meeting their client needs. In adopting this approach, Enterprise Ireland is putting increased effort into and emphasis on assisting businesses to improve and sustain their competitiveness by utilising the considerable expertise of the agency's development advisors working directly with their client companies. Monaghan County Enterprise Board, which I initiated some time ago, has supported the creation of more than 450 new jobs in small enterprises since 1997.
As regards the establishment of a business park in Monaghan town, IDA Ireland has statutory responsibility for the provision of industrial property. IDA Ireland owns a 30 acre business park in the town. It points out that the availability of an advance factory is critical to securing a project for Monaghan and the agency has secured planning permission for the construction of a 25,000 square foot factory. It is currently endeavouring to secure a developer to provide this facility. In addition, to bring the business park up to the appropriate standard required to attract foreign direct investment, it employed consultants to master plan the entire site. Arising out of this, the agency is currently applying for planning permission for a 20,000 square foot office facility on the park and to upgrade the entrance and landscaping to make it more attractive to investors.
IDA Ireland has concluded a sale to Monaghan County Enterprise Board of a four acre site. The county development fund is constructing a facility to encourage investment in teleservices and software development, which is part of the Armagh Monaghan digital corridor, something I was deeply involved in with Deputy O'Hanlon, having visited the area and secured the necessary grants required for both developments. This is currently nearing completion and IDA Ireland will actively market this facility through its network of regional and overseas offices. Our Department of Education and Science is building a retraining centre on a two acre site formerly owned by IDA Ireland.
Enterprise Ireland to date has supported four county enterprise centres in County Monaghan. In June 2000, it approved a package of £100,000 to Monaghan county enterprise fund for the establishment of an enterprise centre in Monaghan town, which is currently under construction. Enterprise Ireland also supported Ballybay business centre, Lough Egish enterprise centre and Castleblaney enterprise centre. I had the honour of opening many of these centres in recent years.
Recent developments in Dundalk Institute of Technology and regional development centre have strengthened the support service to local industry and the college is a key resource in the development of high technology enterprise in the region. There are also two FÁS training centres which serve Monaghan, situated in Dundalk and Sligo. IDA Ireland is working closely with the third level colleges in the region to ensure the provision of relevant courses and training. The availability of suitably motivated and educated staff will be a key element in attracting quality employment to the area.
It should be noted that the CSO live register area analysis figures for County Monaghan show a drop of more than 20% in the past five years from 3,475 people in December 1996 to 2,752 in December 2001. While this is not entirely due to the efforts of the industrial development agencies, there is no doubt that their efforts have produced results in the region.
As recently as yesterday, which the Deputy alluded to, the Tánaiste met a delegation of public representatives from County Monaghan and assured them that the ongoing and co-ordinated job creation efforts by the industrial development agencies in County Monaghan will continue to be a priority for these agencies.
Deputies in the House can be assured that we will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the positive and proactive progress that we made in County Monaghan will continue during the lifetime of the national development plan between now and 2006 to ensure that equality of opportunity exists for all the people in County Monaghan to be involved in mainstream economic activity and employment opportunities in that beloved county.