Niall Blaney
Question:44 Mr. Blaney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the action plan the Government has regarding unemployment in Donegal which is running at four times the national average. [24903/02]
Written Answers. - Employment Action Plan.
I share the Deputy's concern at the increase in the level of job losses in Donegal in recent months. These events are a consequence of the slowdown over the past year or so in the world economy, the most severe in almost 30 years and, as one of the most open economies in Europe and the world, Ireland has been particularly exposed to this downturn. However, I would point out that the live register statistics supplied by the Central Statistics Office for December 1998 for County Donegal were 13,485 and the most recent statistics of October 2002 are 9,355, a reduction of 4,130 in the intervening period.
I would also make the point that job creation is a day to day operational issue for the industrial development agencies under the remit of my Department and one, for which I, as Minister, have no direct involvement.
The main agencies under my Department's remit which deal with job creation are Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. The county and city enterprise boards are also actively involved in supporting the creation of employment in micro-enterprises, that is, enterprises employing ten people or less.
Enterprise Ireland, EI, is proactively adopting a structured approach to driving growth in Donegal and provides preferential funding for companies with detailed export plans expanding or establishing a business in the county and throughout the BMW region. The support of EI's specialist teams in the region, in Dublin and in 30 overseas locations is being used for Donegal companies seeking to grow their businesses in international markets and progress is being made in this regard. EI has approved almost €755,000 to client companies in the county already this year.
In 2002 significant progress has been made in the provision of seed and venture capital, additions to space for community enterprise activities and the development of an innovation strategy for Ireland north-west. Ten community enterprise centres, CEC, have been funded in the county to date, the most recent being Erne Enterprise Development Limited who were approved a capital grant of €300,000 and the Donegal Town Community Chamber Limited who received a feasibility grant of €6,500 under the new CEC programme for 2002. The 10,000 square foot Moville CEC, approved in 2001, is due to open in 2003 and the 25,000 square feet Letterkenny CEC approved under the 1999-2000 scheme opened late last year and is almost full.
Over the past two years, IDA Ireland has been committed to delivering half of all new greenfield jobs into the Objective One regions in the coming years and the positive initiatives which have resulted in Donegal including the following: PacifiCare Health Systems Ireland at completion will bring total employment in the company to over 300 persons; ongoing investment at Prumerica Systems Ireland Limited has resulted in a current staffing level of circa 400 persons and is continuing to recruit in both their software and contact centre operations; and in June 2002, Keith Prowse established a contact centre in Buncrana, County Donegal, which plans to employ 120 people over four years.
A number of other companies continue to recruit in the county, including Kirchhoff Ireland in Letterkenny – automotive components, Boston Scientific Interventional Technologies in Letterkenny – medical devices, and Claddagh Resources in Buncrana – executive search company.
In addition, the Letterkenny Business Park has been completed and plans are well advanced to extend this park, following the acquisition of 90 acres of land. Work has now been completed on the provision of a second 25,000 square foot advance factory at the park and planning permission has been sought for a third advance facility. In addition, planning permission has been sought for a new facility in Ballyshannon and a 20,000 square foot factory in Buncrana. The agency is also continuing to market the factories vacated by Fruit of the Loom at Milford and Buncrana.
FÁS actively supports the IDA and Enterprise Ireland by providing training and recruitment support to new and expanding companies and in response to the job losses throughout the county in 1999-2001, FÁS Employment Services conducted quality registration interviews with each affected employee. This intervention was additional to the many services that FÁS provides for all unemployed people at the various outreach centres and at the FÁS training centre in Letterkenny and Gweedore.
Donegal County Enterprise Board has in recent years approved 26 projects with 59 potential new jobs and an additional potential for a further 35 new jobs from one of the projects. Donegal County Enterprise Board is also involved in a number of strategic regional and cross-Border initiatives for small business development and had a net increase of 100 new jobs in its assisted businesses in 2001.
Finally, I would mention that the recent decision to select Letterkenny as a gateway under the national spatial strategy will assist in promoting both Letterkenny and Donegal further.
Niall Blaney
Question:45 Mr. Blaney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the plans the Government has for a factory (details supplied) in County Donegal which has been lying dormant for nearly a decade. [24902/02]
The property in question is owned by Fruit of the Loom Incorporated, a US multinational corporation. Fruit of the Loom Incorporated, as part of a rationalisation programme in Europe, closed a number of facilities, namely Malin, Raphoe, Dungloe and Milford. The factory at Milford closed in 1999.
The building in Milford was purpose built for the manufacture of shirts and sweatshirts. Over the past two years, the building has been marketed by IDA Ireland as a location for new inward investment. A number of companies have expressed serious interest, but as yet no project has been secured for the building.
IDA Ireland continues to promote the building in conjunction with the owners, Fruit of the Loom, for suitable inward investment or indigenous projects. However, I understand that Fruit of the Loom Incorporated will shortly place the building on the open market and it is its intention to dispose of the building as soon as possible.