I thank the Chair for allowing me the opportunity to raise the matter of why Shannon Development is not included in the central applications office website for the Government's proposed decentralisation plans.
The Shannon Free Zone employs over 7,500 people and is one of the leading business parks in Ireland in terms of size, multi-sector nature and employment, and it is the core economic driver in the Shannon region. It is the home of 120 leading global companies with exports of more than €2.5 billion in 2003, and contains the largest cluster of North American investment in Ireland.
Over the five years to the end of 2003, a total of 31 new industry start-ups were established on the Shannon Free Zone by Shannon Development, which accounted for 950 new jobs. Outside of the Shannon Free Zone, 12,500 people are employed by Shannon Development's Irish Enterprise clients.
The current uncertainly facing the mid-western region is caused by the Government's indecision regarding the future of Shannon Airport and the future of Shannon Development where the Tánaiste has suggested that the responsibility of the Shannon Free Zone at Shannon Airport should be transferred to the proposed new Shannon Airport Authority. Does the Tánaiste want the new airport authority to be property managers as well as running the airport?
We all welcome decentralisation, but where does the future of Shannon Development lie? The Government has promised to move more than 10,000 civil and public servants from Dublin to 53 locations in 25 counties, which includes moving Enterprise Ireland to Shannon. One of the questions asked of a civil servant who wishes to apply for decentralisation on the Government's website www.publicjobs.ie is to choose a Department, office or agency to which to relocate. However, Shannon Development has been omitted from the website despite that decentralisation is meant to cover all agencies, commercial and non-commercial. Other agencies listed include Údarás na Gaeltachta and the Western Development Commission which is already decentralised.
Is this part of a Government strategy not only to take the Shannon Free Zone operations from the agency, but to integrate the activities of Shannon Development with Enterprise Ireland? If this happens, job creation in the mid-west will suffer as an all-Ireland body takes this responsibility from the only true regional development agency in the west.
We all received correspondence from the Tánaiste today regarding her future commitments to the Shannon region. While it is acknowledged that part of the function of Shannon Development will overlap with Enterprise Ireland, this is only part of the work the agency carries out. Its other functions include tourism and marketing, the technological parks and Shannon Free Zone, including overseas industry and the running of Shannon Heritage which employs more than 400 people during the peak season.
The Tánaiste has been in charge of Shannon Development for the past seven years. During her many visits to the area, she has praised it for its commitment to attracting industry. Why now is she bringing out these proposals? Is not the real problem the future of Shannon Airport and how to finance the new airports authority, given the predictions in the PricewaterhouseCoopers report that Shannon Airport will incur heavy losses if it becomes an independent airport?
The Tánaiste should think again about Shannon Development. The agency has a proven track record over the last 45 years and can make a significant impact at regional level.