Last Sunday morning the people of Ballinasloe were mesmerised by a lengthy article in the Sunday Independent, written by Jimmy Guerin, concerning how their town had been bypassed again where job creation is concerned. The article spoke of how 1,000 jobs were lost to Ballinasloe by what was described as “IDA incompetence” and went on to outline that a leading US high tech company had shelved plans to expand into Galway after IDA Ireland bungling and red tape turned a dream into a commercial nightmare.
Ballinasloe badly needs an anchor industry. Two years ago AT Cross closed, Square D closed dramatically a fortnight ago and the downgrading of St. Bridget's Hospital cost hundreds of jobs. To rub salt in the wound, Ballinasloe was not even mentioned in the national spatial strategy programme a month ago. Ballinasloe did not know that an American company, Consumer Direct of America, CDA, which employs 500 people in the United States, wished to expand its services and open a call centre at the old AT Cross site. It is estimated that the US company planned to create between 400 and 1,000 jobs in Ballinasloe. The mind boggles at the importance of a project of that size and the beneficial effects it would have on Ballinasloe.
From the newspaper article it is clear that Consumer Direct of America was not a Mickey Mouse outfit. It is a Nasdaq listed company, one of the leaders in its field in the United States. However, according to Mike Barron, the chief executive officer of the company, after he and his delegation visited Ireland and were taken in tow by IDA Ireland personnel, he was happy he had made an impression. Mr. Barron seemed to be impressed by the work ethic of the west of Ireland workers and the support of IDA Ireland. The jobs created in this new project would cost €12,000 per job created, which appears to be good value. However, after the Americans returned home, there was no communication from IDA Ireland to seek further clarification on such a huge enterprise. In December the bombshell fell. IDA Ireland said it was not interested.
I have a number of questions for the Minister. Did the board of IDA Ireland consider the CDA project in detail? Is it not reasonable to expect that after the initial meeting with a potential creator of 400 to 1,000 jobs, there would be great need for further clarification and information? What contact had IDA Ireland with PricewaterhouseCoopers, consultants to CDA, given that Mr. Barron said that PricewaterhouseCoopers did not act on his company's behalf? Did IDA Ireland send any of its representatives to the US facility? Mr. Barron says it did not. Would it not be a monumental blunder if IDA Ireland did not do so?
Why did IDA Ireland then take Mr. Barron seriously after he resubmitted his application by seeking references from leading banking and other lending institutions? Will the Minister comment on why Allied Irish Banks and Ulster Bank offered credit facilities and why Eircom sent some of its executives to the United States to see the company when IDA Ireland had turned it down only a month before? Why did IDA Ireland not seek the €2 million to €3 million cash facility needed to prove the company's commitment to the project on its first application?
Why did IDA Ireland refuse to support this company? I want the honest answer. County Galway has never had to put up with anything like this before. I believe that IDA Ireland is so centrally attached to its Dublin headquarters that its regional offices only act as a type of post office. They only get what is sent to them, and in the case of Ballinasloe, it was not much.
I do not want taxpayers' money squandered and I do not want an industrial enterprise that would collapse in a few years, creating even greater problems. However, I do not want Ballinasloe or County Galway to be treated shoddily. It should get the same treatment other towns have got over the past ten years.
I am disappointed the Tánaiste is not present. She was in Ballinasloe last Thursday but there was not a word to the 400 people who are losing their jobs about the 1,000 jobs that seem to have been messed up by either her or IDA Ireland.