Vol. 969 No. 6
1. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the contingencies in place to safeguard small and medium enterprises and export businesses from a hard Brexit scenario, including revision of state aid rules; if she is satisfied with the level of resource preparedness; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22972/18]
What contingency plans are in place to safeguard small and medium-sized enterprises and export businesses from a hard Brexit scenario, including revision of state aid rules? Is the Minister of State satisfied with the level of resource preparedness and will he make a statement on the matter?
I thank Deputy Kelleher for tabling the question. The Department and its agencies are carrying out extensive work to prepare for all Brexit eventualities. Informed by detailed research, the Department has been putting in place a package of measures that will allow us to respond to the needs of businesses. This includes the recruitment of additional staff to support businesses to adapt to Brexit and the launch of additional supports for market diversification, innovation and competitiveness improvement. I also launched a Brexit working capital loan scheme in April 2018, which will provide affordable working capital financing to eligible businesses that are either currently impacted by Brexit or will be impacted in the future.
My officials are examining policy proposals for a new longer-term business investment loan scheme to support businesses to invest strategically for a post-Brexit environment. I am also developing proposals for a new business finance advisory hub service which would focus on business development.
In terms of helping firms to prepare for Brexit, Enterprise Ireland has launched the Brexit small and medium enterprise, SME, scorecard, an interactive online tool which can be used by all Irish companies to self-assess their exposure to Brexit. Enterprise Ireland is also offering what is known as a "Be Prepared Grant" of up to €5,000 to support clients to develop a Brexit action plan and strategic consultancy grants of up to €35,000. The agency has also rolled out a number of Brexit advisory clinics across the country. The Enterprise Ireland market discovery fund provides support to companies to assist them in researching the viability of exporting into new geographical markets, offering maximum grants of €150,000. The agile innovation fund supports product, service and process innovation to enhance the competitive advantage of Irish companies.
The local enterprise offices are organising workshops, seminars and training to assist companies to better understand the challenges of Brexit and have a range of supports to help clients. Similarly, InterTradeIreland is providing a Brexit start to plan readiness voucher scheme of up to €2,000, which enables companies to purchase specialist advice in areas such as customs, tax, tariff and non-tariff barriers, legal and labour mobility issues.
With regard to state aid considerations, in November 2017, following a meeting with the European Commissioner for Competition with responsibility for EU state aid policy, Ms Margrethe Verstager, we established a technical working group comprising representatives from the Directorate General for Competition and my Department, together with colleagues from Enterprise Ireland and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The objective of the group is to scope and design schemes to support enterprises impacted by Brexit in line with state aid rules.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
An outcome of the technical working group discussions has been the extension of the Irish rescue and restructuring scheme to include temporary restructuring aid for enterprises facing acute liquid needs. This provides a further €10 million of State support to those companies experiencing acute liquidity needs and is in addition to the original €10 million announced in November 2017 under the rescue and restructuring scheme. Under the scheme guidelines, the temporary restructuring element is in the form of loans repayable over a maximum period of 18 months. Restructuring aid under this scheme is in the form of direct grants or equity support.
The Department and agencies will continue to engage with the European Commission over the coming months as the potential impacts of Brexit become clearer.
I thank the Minister of State for his reply. We all accept that the political capital being used by the Government, Parliament and citizens in the context of addressing the border issues on the island of Ireland is of critical importance from a political, cultural, social and economic perspective and all that flows from that. None of us wants any form of border on the island beyond what is currently in place. We must also consider the impact Brexit will have on small and medium-sized businesses. There is no doubt that, irrespective of how the negotiations on Brexit proceed, the United Kingdom will officially leave the customs union, as we know it, and the Single Market on 29 March 2019. If an agreement is not reached, World Trade Organization rules will apply. I am concerned that while the emphasis is on the immediate issue, there is insufficient preparedness not only in terms of resourcing the Department, but also in resourcing the policies the Department should be identifying as key to maintaining and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises that will be dramatically affected by Brexit.
We all share the concerns about what will happen on 29 March 2019. That is why we put many incentives in place to ensure that we will be as Brexit ready as possible. The uncertainty obviously causes many problems for companies, particularly those exporting to the UK. The importance of local enterprise offices, LEOs, must be highlighted. We have resourced agencies and given them extra staff to deal with Brexit. As the Deputy said, meetings organised by Enterprise Ireland have been held all over the country. LEOs are also providing mentoring. Deputy Kelleher will acknowledge that we have put in place incentives for companies to prepare for Brexit. I understand the Deputy received a copy of Building Stronger Business - Getting Brexit ready, a small booklet that outlines the tools available including the clinics, the Be Prepared grant, the Enterprise Ireland, EI, market discovery fund, what LEOs and InterTradeIreland are doing and FDI Brexit support. We are working hard in this area.
It has to be admitted that there are challenges, but there are also opportunities for companies. Until we know what is going to happen – the next few months will be important – uncertainty is affecting many companies. At the same time, the UK market will remain important for SMEs and other Irish companies that export into the UK. We are putting resources in place. These will be additional to the collaboration that already exists with the Department.
We do not want to be argumentative about this. I was in Brussels for the past two days as part of a Fianna Fáil parliamentary delegation to discuss Brexit. We met Commissioner Hogan, the Council and political groupings. There is significant support in Europe for addressing the issue of the Border in the context of the all-island arrangement and the Good Friday Agreement. I am concerned that if the Border issue is addressed, we will have used up all of our political capital and will not have enough - in the context of state aid rules - to get things changed in the future. I urge that the Minister of State, at the next Competitiveness Council meeting, signal that the Government is going to submit an application for the relaxation of the state aid rules in order to allow for higher thresholds to be made available to companies so that they can be prepared in advance of Brexit, rather than trying to make the case after the event.
In regard to state aid considerations, I will be attending a meeting of the Competitiveness Council in Brussels on Monday next. The technical working group involving various players, including the Department, Enterprise Ireland and others, has been very successful. An outcome of the group's discussions has been the extension of the Irish rescue and restructuring scheme to include temporary reconstruction aid for enterprises facing significantly acute needs as regards liquidity. That provided €10 million in state aid to support companies experiencing difficulties, which is in addition to the €10 million announced in November 2017. Under the relevant guidelines, the temporary restructuring element is in the form of loans repayable over a maximum period of 18 months. Restructuring aid under the scheme comes, as the Deputy knows, in the form of direct grants or equity. My Department and the expert group will continue to engage with the European Commission in the coming months as the impact of Brexit becomes clearer. That means longer term loans, etc. We are not reneging on this; rather, we are working hard. I am sure that message was brought home to the Deputy in Brussels during the week.
2. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the way in which she plans to attract more foreign direct investment to County Leitrim and the regions; the way in which she further plans to help indigenous firms establish and grow in these areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22891/18]
How does the Minister of State intend to attract more foreign direct investment to Leitrim and the regions and what is his plan to ensure that indigenous Irish businesses establish and grow in these areas and offset the reliance on foreign direct investment? I know the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, is absent because she is meeting a delegation at the Border to demonstrate the impact of Brexit. As a Border county, Leitrim will be particularly impacted upon by Brexit. We need a new emphasis on bringing foreign direct investment to the region and supporting indigenous business.
The Minister of State is from County Clare. The business model relating to Shannon Development works well. We need to extend that to all rural areas of the country where there is potential to grow jobs and build industry.
I thank Deputy Martin Kenny for his question. He is representing his county well. The Government is committed to supporting job creation and investment in the regions. This remains a key priority. That is why my Department and its agencies are working towards ambitious targets to ensure that employment and investment are distributed as evenly as possible across the country, including in County Leitrim.
The north east-north west action plan for jobs is a key policy response for supporting employment growth in the Border region. The plan is stimulating job creation across the region by facilitating collaborative initiatives between the public and private sectors and through the provision of new competitive funds awarded through Enterprise Ireland to support regional enterprise projects.
There are currently five IDA Ireland client companies employing 889 people in Leitrim. Employment in these five companies has increased steadily over the years, with 283 additional jobs being created between 2013 and 2017. The increase in employment highlights the work undertaken by IDA Ireland in partnering with its existing client base to help evolve operations and to identify new areas of opportunity in order that they can sustain a long-term presence in the country.
As well as engaging with current clients in Leitrim, IDA Ireland is also working hard to identify new investment opportunities for the county and the north west. This is in line with the agency's five-year strategy and goal to increase investment in every region of Ireland by 20% to 30% by 2019. IDA Ireland's staff are continuing to highlight the benefits of areas like Leitrim to investors and the advantages for overseas companies in locating there.
Our collective efforts to increase investment and job creation in the north-west region, which includes Sligo and Donegal, are aided by the strong base of foreign direct investment currently located in those counties by overseas companies in the region. As the Deputy knows, employment has been steadily growing over the years. Last year, for example, IDA Ireland client companies in the north west created 330 new jobs, bringing total foreign direct investment, FDI, employment up to 6,462 people across 40 client companies.
FDI, represents only one part of our wider efforts to generate economic growth in regional locations. Indigenous enterprise also plays a crucial role in creating employment opportunities. Enterprise Ireland plays a key role in supporting companies in areas such as Leitrim to innovate and remain competitive in international markets. In 2017, 559 people were employed across 25 Enterprise Ireland supported companies in the county. In addition, Enterprise Ireland paid €1.6 million to client companies based in Leitrim between 2015 and 2017.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
The LEO in Leitrim also provides financial assistance, guidance and other supports for anyone who intends to start or grow their own business. It can offer direct grant aid to microenterprises in the manufacturing and internationally traded services sectors which, over time, have the potential to develop into strong export entities. In 2017, the Leitrim LEO supported the creation of 39 new jobs with 101 clients participating in LEO mentoring programmes and 571 clients availing of LEO training programmes.
We have made progress in creating new economic opportunities in Leitrim but we are determined to achieve more. That is why we will continue to focus on regional development and explore how we can create new job and investment opportunities for the people of the county and the wider area.
I am glad to hear the answer from the Minister of State. It is good to see that there is a focus from the Government on delivering jobs in the regions. We have heard that before. However, the reality in places like counties Leitrim and Roscommon and other areas in the north and west is quite different. Last year, 89 jobs were created in Leitrim by companies supported by IDA Ireland, fewer than 0.5% of the total number of IDA Ireland jobs created throughout the country in 2017. The Minister of State can understand why people in County Leitrim feel left out. Figures from the Central Statistics Office, CSO, show that 5,467 people were on the live register in Sligo and Leitrim last month. I know there are various initiatives to get people back to work, but the problem is that in many cases the jobs do not exist. That needs to be recognised.
I appreciate that many companies have to make their own decisions about where they go. We know that when large companies such as Bank of America MBNA came to Carrick-on-Shannon many years ago it was because of a local connection, namely, a person from Leitrim who worked for the company abroad and got it to come here. In many cases, that is what we are depending on but we need to depend on more than that. I would like to know that the Government has a plan with incentives and initiatives to attract FDI companies to go to the places with the most potential in rural areas of the country. The production economics are much better in rural areas. There is cheaper housing and everything else is cheaper for people to live and work. Companies have an opportunity to prosper and develop those areas. I would like the Government to do something to incentivise that.
Leitrim is a little like Clare. My county is sandwiched between Galway and Limerick and Leitrim is sandwiched between Donegal and Sligo. I have visited Leitrim in my role as Minister of State and I have seen at first hand the operations of fantastic indigenous companies such as VistaMed, which employs over 400 people.
There are brewery companies such as the Carrig Brewing Company, as well as companies such as Cora Systems and Prior PLM Medical, which were with me on a trade mission. Then, of course, there is the famous distillery in Drumshanbo, The Shed Distillery. There is a lot happening in County Leitrim in the indigenous area. In the FDI area, there are some really good companies in County Leitrim, such as Avantcard, which has 160 employees and MCi, which has 200 employees in Manorhamilton.
For counties such as Leitrim, it is a combination of both indigenous micro-enterprises and IDA Ireland jobs. What is important is to keep trying to attract jobs into the regions. If one looks at the track record of IDA Ireland, last year alone it created more than 10,000 jobs, with 45% of those outside the greater Dublin area. I assure Deputy Martin Kenny that we are working hard to ensure County Leitrim is very much part of the overall picture for balanced regional development.
Go raibh maith agat.
Deputy Martin Kenny should be proud of the companies in County Leitrim. We want to do more and will do more with the agencies to ensure that Leitrim's job numbers grow.
Deputy Martin Kenny's final supplementary.
Can I say one word on this before I finish?
Others are waiting.
Between 2013 and 2017, the level of overseas jobs-----
The Minister of State will have another minute.
-----has increased by 46% in County Leitrim. That, in itself, is a sign of success.
We will have to observe the times. Others are waiting.
I thank the Minister of State. I am aware of and acknowledge that, but much of it is not driven by Government incentive or initiatives. It is driven by the companies themselves who are developing and working. What my party is saying is there needs to be more effort made to help those companies, and particularly the indigenous industries.
Brexit is looming and many of our indigenous industries are fearful. The small companies that are exporting are fearful about finding new markets and finding a way around this Brexit problem and the Government needs to do more about that.
Sinn Féin also has proposed the establishment of co-operative development units aimed at raising awareness of the benefits of co-operatives and increasing the number of such enterprises across the island. What does the Government intend to do in that area? That model has worked well in other European countries, where small private companies work together to build up co-operatives where they can develop, produce more jobs, produce more industry and move forward. We need to be doing that. Those models need to be employed in places such as County Leitrim and in the regions in general.
One of the big problems we have in the regions is the absence of infrastructure. Our roads are poor, access to the area is poor and broadband is a considerable problem. Ireland needs to be more than just a haven for some corporations to hide money. It needs to be a genuine tech haven where we can provide technical jobs. If we have adequate infrastructure and adequate broadband, we can be the centre of the universe no matter where we are. That is what we need to bring to every part of rural Ireland. I would welcome a Government commitment to do that and to work on the area of co-operation between companies.
Deputy Martin Kenny talked about the co-operative movement. The Deputy needs to focus on the local enterprise offices, LEOs, which play an important role throughout the country in assisting companies to start up and entrepreneurs. In County Leitrim last year, they created 39 new jobs. I visited the LEO office in Carrick-on-Shannon at Leitrim County Council and I have seen for myself at first hand what it offers and the assistance it gives to help micro-enterprises, such as manufacturing companies and people with ideas up there. The Deputy himself can see the success of that in the brewing companies, the distillery companies and the food sector companies that have started off in that area. Small micro-enterprises are extremely important for regional areas where one will not get FDI. We can bring FDI companies into Ireland to have a look at counties such as Leitrim but in the end, where they want to set up is a decision for the company itself.
I take on board what Deputy Martin Kenny is saying but I ask him to acknowledge the work that is being done in Leitrim by the local enterprise offices, EI and IDA Ireland. The local enterprise offices have 101 clients participating in the mentoring programme.
Go raibh maith agat.
There are 571 clients availing of LEO training. There is much progress being made in the economic opportunities in Leitrim. The Government is determined to do a lot more here and the focus will continue on regional development to explore how we can create new job opportunities-----
I have to move on.
-----for the people of Leitrim and the wider area, which must also be taken into account.
I remind the House that 23 minutes are gone and we have only answered two questions.
We asked two questions. There were no answers.
The House got good answers.
The guidelines are two minutes and one minute and I ask the Minister of State and Members to observe that.
3. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if a sectoral analysis has been carried out of skills shortages in the economy for the next five, ten, 15 and 20-year period; the impact skills shortages are having on Irish competitiveness levels; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22973/18]
I ask the Minister has a sectoral analysis been carried out of skills shortages in the economy for the next five, ten, 15 and 20-year periods and the impact skills shortages are having on Irish competitiveness levels. The Minister will have seen the most recent report where we are now burning at an alarming rate through our competitiveness advantages vis-à-vis our international competitors. This is a worrying development that has just been announced in the context of Ireland dropping in the competitiveness stakes. The issue of skills shortages is something that has to be confronted because there are skills shortages now in major areas of the economy, such as agriculture, transport and hospitality, and climbing up the chain of the economy, we have skills shortages across almost every sector.
I will try to stick to the time.
Access to a high quality, innovative and adaptable talent pool is critical for the sustainable growth of the Irish economy and keeping Ireland competitive. For this reason, equipping the workforce with the skills required for the jobs of today and for those of tomorrow is a strategic priority for the Government.
While skills policy is primarily a matter for the Department of Education and Skills, my Department supports the work of the expert group for future skills needs, EGFSN. The EGFSN is an independent body, comprised of business representatives, education providers, trade unions and Government bodies. The body plays a key role in identifying future skills needs of enterprises and advising Government on how those needs can be met so as to enhance competitiveness.
Over the last 20 years, the EGFSN has forecasted skills availability across a wide range of sectors. In recent years, these studies have included sectors such as the marine economy; freight, transport, logistics and distribution, biopharma and hospitality. These reports include a horizon scanning exercise and generate forecasts for skills demand over a five-year period so as to ensure accuracy in forecasting demands.
A relevant example of this is the work undertaken on ICT skills demand forecast this year. In 2013, the EGFSN published the study, Addressing Future Demand for High-Level ICT Skills. This study included a demand forecast for ICT skills over the period 2013-2018. The findings and recommendations of this report were essential inputs into the development of the ICT Skills Action Plan 2014-2018. This year, the EGFSN has engaged in a refresh of the demand forecast exercise undertaken in 2013 for the period 2017-22. This analysis will inform the upcoming ICT skills action plan.
Other EGFSN work under way in 2018 includes skills forecasts across sectors such as food and drink, design, freight transport, distribution and logistics and skills for the digital economy.
My Department provides work permits for those key skills which are in short supply through the employment permits system. This system is designed to facilitate the entry of appropriately skilled non-EEA migrants to fill skills shortages. The objective is balanced by the need to ensure there are no suitably qualified Irish or EEA nationals available to undertake the work and the shortage is genuine. The employment permits system is managed by the operation of the highly skilled eligible occupations list and the ineligible categories list. The rationale underpinning the inclusion or omission from the occupation lists is informed by the EGFSN and the skills and labour market research unit in SOLAS and is augmented by a consultation process.
I will deal with the competition issue.
There are 40 seconds gone.
I will deal with the competition in the next round of the question.
Whatever the Minister of State wishes.
There is no point in us pretending about the impact the skills shortages will have across all sectors of the economy. We have rapid growth, our GDP has increased and our debt ratios have dropped dramatically but underneath all the positive news, are the alarm bells beginning to ring due to the drop in competitiveness?
If we do not arrest that particular issue, we will have the same difficulties and challenges facing the country in a few years as we had previously. The reason I say that is it takes time to train people. It takes time to upskill people. It takes time to attract people back into the economy.
We no longer have the pool of labour available to us from the eastern European states that we had on the previous occasion we had a major expansion in the economy because their economies have converged more with the rest of Europe in terms of growth and we will have skills shortages. It is evident already. In the areas of agriculture, hospitality and transport, we already have massive shortages and the construction sector is now beginning to bite severely. Beyond that, in the trades and the higher skills, we also will have considerable difficulties.
The idea that the expert group for future skills needs would look at a five-year horizon is baffling when it takes at least four to five years for an engineer to qualify and three-to-four years for a tradesperson to be fully qualified. We must look beyond that short timeframe.
The Department of Education and Skills, the national skills council, the regional skills fora and the expert group on future skills needs are all looking at the issue. That is the reason we have so many FDI companies operating in various sectors in this country. Deputy Kelleher is correct in that it is important that we update the skills.
The drop in competitiveness that was evident from last night's report is disappointing. We have gone from sixth place to 12th in the world economy but we are still in the top 15, which is important. We are ahead of China. The top five seem to remain in place all the time. The USA had dropped but it is back up again. Hong Kong had taken over. The first three are now the USA, Hong Kong and Singapore. We still remain in the top three within the European Union and it is important to acknowledge that.
That is just one issue. We should bear in mind the successes we have had in our ranking in other areas. The UK is currently 20th while we are 12th. We are ranked first in the world by the IMD World Competitiveness Center for productivity in industry and the flexibility and adaptability of our workforce. We also perform very well in attracting and retaining talent. That is extremely important for us. The focus is very much on upskilling and reskilling people where jobs are changing. The future of work is changing.
I call Deputy Kelleher.
Only last Friday-----
Nobody is listening to me.
-----the EU Commissioner ranked Ireland sixth in the context of the digital economy and how we have embraced the skills, which is up three places. We are going in a very positive direction.
Deputy Kelleher has one minute.
I have been very well behaved this morning.
It is difficult to stop when one has such good news to report.
When we are talking about this issue, and while we acknowledge the positives, it is important to recognise the underlying threats. We face an obvious threat in the context of Brexit and the impact that may have on the broader economy. There are skills shortages across all sectors of the economy and I do not detect any discernible positive efforts being made to address these, either in the current context or into the future. Even the expert group only looks at a horizon of five years. We must look beyond that to assess what we need in the years ahead and act now as opposed to waiting for the inevitable to happen when we lose further competitiveness due to skills shortages across all major sectors of the economy.
We have acknowledged that there are skills shortages and that things are changing. However, we have to take account of the collaboration that is taking place to address the situation. First, there is interdepartmental collaboration and then there is collaboration between multinational companies in the private sector with third-level institutions and the Department. That is key. There is a significant focus on apprenticeships and there are opportunities for students to pursue apprenticeships in collaboration with the big multinational companies. That is where the third-level institutions come into play.
Our unemployment rate has gone from a high of 15.1% down to 5.9%. We are very conscious that we are almost at full employment. We are also very conscious of the future needs of the growing population. That is why we put Project Ireland 2040, the national planning framework, in place. We have the resources to ensure we are ready for the change that is coming and to ensure that we have a skilled workforce because we have a very young workforce and a well educated population.
4. Deputy Michael Harty asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if IDA Ireland and her Department are searching for a replacement industry for County Clare in view of the announcement in November 2015 by a company (details supplied) of its plan to close its plant in Clarecastle with the loss of 240 high-quality jobs. [22964/18]
I wish to ask the Minister of State a direct question. In November 2015, the pharmaceutical company, Roche, announced its intention to close its pharmaceutical plant in Clarecastle, in the constituency of Clare, which we share, with the loss of 240 high-quality jobs. The Minister of State is from County Clare. Are IDA Ireland and the Department still searching for a replacement industry for the plant in Clarecastle and what success have they had to date?
What Deputy Harty said is correct. The situation is very much on my mind. We both share the same concerns about employment in County Clare but I think there is good news for the county. First, I will deal with his question.
In November 2015, Roche Holding AG announced the decision to close its facility in Clarecastle following a review of its worldwide manufacturing network. This review also resulted in closures at plants in other international locations. Since that announcement was made, IDA Ireland has been working hard to identify a new buyer for the facility. The site is still being actively promoted by the agency's staff to existing clients and potential investors and that will continue to be the case. The company's senior management also met IDA Ireland recently and are assisting the agency's efforts in that regard. We remain hopeful that an investor will be identified in due course and that further employment opportunities will, in turn, be created for the people of Clarecastle and the wider Clare area.
While I remain very disappointed by the closure of this facility, I welcome the continuing overseas investment in County Clare, where there are 68 IDA Ireland client companies employing a total of 6,775 people. The level of foreign direct employment in the county has increased by almost 12% since 2013 and the Government is determined to grow those numbers further. IDA Ireland, in promoting Clare as an investment destination, markets the county as part of the mid-west region along with Limerick and north Tipperary. The overall trend for employment in multinationals across that region is positive, with the agency’s client companies creating 1,481 new jobs there last year. That represented an increase of 5% over the previous year. Total employment in overseas companies now stands at 17,787 people across 128 client companies.
Recent investment announcements by overseas companies reflect the potential of Clare and the surrounding area to attract high-quality FDI. The decision by Jaguar Land Rover to establish a new software engineering facility in Shannon, for example, shows that the region can attract desirable high-tech investment and the employment opportunities associated with such projects. Beckman Coulter's announcement last December that it is to expand the current facility with the addition of 70 new roles is further evidence of the area's strengths and attractiveness to investors.
IDA Ireland remains focused on engaging with its client base so as to harness that potential and create further employment and investment growth in the region. We need to remember, however, that FDI forms only one part of our efforts to generate economic growth in regional locations, whether in the mid-west or elsewhere. Indigenous enterprise also has a critical role to play. That is reflected in the regional action plan for jobs initiative, which is a central pillar of the Government's ambition to create 135,000 new jobs outside of Dublin by 2020.
It has taken the Minister of State two and a half minutes to tell me that there is no new buyer for the company. Three years after the company announced the plant's closure with the loss of 240 jobs - and also the loss of the subcontractor jobs that went into supplying services to the plan - the Minister of State is telling me there is still no buyer. A replacement is critical for the people of Clarecastle. The closure of Roche sent shockwaves through the community. The Minister of State and previous Ministers in the Department committed to finding a buyer for the plant, which was the subject of major investment over the years. Millions of euro went into developing the plant but the Minister of State is telling me that, over a three-year period, a buyer could not be found for it. If we are still looking for a buyer after three years, the likelihood of finding one is diminishing by the day.
The Minister of State informed me of the other jobs that were created in Clare. In this case, however, a fundamental piece of industrial infrastructure in Clarecastle, at which production will cease in 2019, is going to be left lying vacant. We need to get a replacement industry into the plant.
Deputy Harty is a medic and he understands the changes in the way drugs are being made. As he is aware, the plant at Clarecastle is not suitable for the next generation of pharma production methods because pharma companies are moving to smaller-volume products. IDA Ireland is working hard. It is talking to companies but it is difficult to get a buyer for an old facility as it would cost a lot of money to change it. One would almost have to knock down the existing facility and start with a brownfield site.
There is a good news story in County Clare in terms of job numbers. A few years ago, almost 12,000 people were unemployed in the county. Today, the figure is closer to 5,000. Jobs are being created in other sectors. The future of work is changing as well in terms of the type of jobs we are attracting into the county. I referred to some positive announcements in that regard. The arrival of the Jaguar Land Rover software facility is a game-changer for the county and there will be other job announcements in the future as well.
I will come back to the fundamental question, namely, the need to get a new company to come in and operate the existing facility in Clarecastle. It is a piece of infrastructure that cannot be allowed to fall away and rust.
The Minister's predecessors, Deputies Fitzgerald, Mitchell O'Connor and Bruton also committed to finding a replacement industry for this plant. They have visited the parent plant in Switzerland and engaged with the company but the Minister of State is saying that, three years later, he has failed to find a buyer for the plant or somebody who will run it. He is the Minister of State in the Department and he is from the county. I expected that he would have been able after three years to deliver a replacement company to take over the plant. It is fitted out for second generation pharmaceutical production but, nevertheless, companies are engaged in this throughout the world. Surely he can find a replacement.
We do not fail in delivering jobs to the county. Only last Tuesday morning, I made a good announcement together with the chief executive officer of the Californian company, Microsemi, for the town of Ennis, which is close to Clarecastle. We announced that a €3.2 million contract had been awarded to the company by the European Space Agency for a general support technical programme to develop cost-effective, integrated motor drive solutions for thrust vector controls in aerospace applications. That will expand Microsemi's operations in the county where the company currently employs 270 people. We have made other announcements relating to the county as well. Microsemi is a fantastic company that exports €120 million worth of products annually and it is expected to increase that by another €20 million annually by 2020. It has a state-of-the-art aviation centre of excellence. I advise the Deputy to visit it and to see what else Ennis has to offer. Let us be positive, not negative, about job creation. The future of work and job types are changing. The digital economy is changing everything we do. The centre of excellence employs ten people but that number is expected to increase to 45 in the coming months. Up the road, Vitalograph announced 100 new jobs last year.
I thank the Minister of State.
There is positive news for the county. Let us be positive about employment.
I call Deputy Shortall on Question No. 5.
We will try to ensure that there will be a buyer for the Roche plant but it is proving difficult. IDA Ireland is working hard.
I seek the Minister of State's co-operation. We have not even completed Priority Questions. Everybody must get an opportunity.
5. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the steps she is taking to curb ticket touting; and the timeframe for the passing of legislation is this regard. [23060/18]
My question relates to the widespread problem of ticket touting and the secondary sale of tickets for concerts and sporting events. This matter is of serious concern and annoyance to the public. What, if anything, is the Government doing about the problem?
I thank the Deputy for her question. The Minister is currently seeking to finalise legislative proposals on ticket resale. The main element of current proposals for legislation on ticket resale is for a ban on resale above the face value of the ticket or on resale at a price in excess of 10% above face value. While the Minister shares the Deputy's concern to ensure that ticket markets work better for consumers, a number of considerations have to be taken into account in deciding on these and other proposals for legislation on ticket resale.
First, the evidence available to the Department suggests that, while a statutory price cap would act to counter ticket profiteering, it is unlikely to improve significantly the ability of fans to obtain tickets for particularly high demand events. The Department obtained detailed information from Ticketmaster and the main secondary platforms operating in Ireland about two events that gave rise to particular criticism about secondary ticket sales - the Coldplay and U2 concerts in Croke Park in July 2017. Combined demand for tickets for the two events exceeded supply by a factor of more than three to one. Even if all of the tickets resold above face value on the main secondary platforms had been available to buyers on the primary ticket market, they would have met less than 5% of the estimated unsatisfied demand for tickets. In so far as the aim of legislative proposals is to ensure greater access for music and sports fans to tickets for high-demand events, there are grounds, therefore, for questioning whether it would achieve this aim.
Second, ticket reselling above face value is permitted in most EU member states. Departmental officials discussed the experience with ticket resale legislation with consumer protection authorities in a number of countries that restrict the resale of tickets. All indicated that while the legislation had been reasonably effective in preventing prohibited resale activity within their national borders, there continued to be significant levels of resale activity for high-demand events on secondary ticket platforms in other countries. If ticket resale in Ireland is subject to a statutory price cap, the borderless character of online trading makes it likely that people in this country who wish to resell tickets at a higher price than that permitted by the legislation, or who are prepared to buy tickets at such a higher price, will go to secondary ticket marketplaces in countries where ticket resale is legal and not subject to a price cap.
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Third, legislative proposals should obviously seek as far as possible to avoid unintended and undesirable consequences. The established secondary ticket marketplaces offer buyers a guarantee that they will be refunded the price of tickets which are not delivered or prove to be fake. While there are understandable reasons for disliking the activities of these marketplaces and there are questions in some cases about the implementation of the guarantees which they offer, they nevertheless afford consumers a level of protection that does not apply to secondary tickets sourced from general online marketplaces, pop-up websites, social networks or street sellers. If, as is possible, the enactment of price cap legislation would lead to the departure of the established secondary marketplaces from the Irish market, the resale channels that would, to some extent or other, fill the gap left by their departure are very unlikely to offer the same guarantees to ticket buyers.
Fourth, it is necessary to consider whether the aims of the proposed legislation could be achieved by other means. There are measures open to event organisers such as personalised and-or paperless ticketing that have been shown to be reasonably effective in preventing ticket resale. A legal requirement on ticket resellers to indicate the row and seat number and, where applicable, the standing area number of tickets could, in addition to benefitting consumers, facilitate event organisers in cancelling tickets resold in breach of the terms of the primary ticket contract. As the issues raised by legislative proposals on ticket resale are complex and require full and careful consideration, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, is not in a position at this point to give a definite time frame for the introduction of legislation. Her aim, however, is to bring proposals to Government on the issue at the earliest possible date.
I thank the Minister of State but he described the problem and did not answer the question. This is a matter for public concern for several years and it is getting worse, particularly in respect of concerts. Last February, I asked the Minister a question about this and the reply that was following the public consultation, there were discussions going on with all the interested parties and at European level, and officials would bring all that information to her. She said that she would prepare proposals "in the near future". It seems from the Minister of State's reply that little progress has been made. He described the problem but he did not say what the Minister or the Department will do. Is it the intention to legislate? If so, when can we expect legislation?
Two Private Members' Bills have been introduced in this area. The Bill tabled by Deputies Rock and Donnelly provides for a ban on the resale of tickets above face value while Deputy Quinlivan's Bill provides for a ban on the resale of tickets in excess of 10% of the ticket price. The Minister commends the initiatives taken by the Deputies and she is fully sympathetic to them. I can understand how anxious Deputy Shortall is in this regard but this is a complex issue. If legislation is introduced, it must be effective and enforceable. The solution is not simple and straightforward. A minority of EU member states have introduced legislation in this regard. However, independent reviews have recommended against legislation in other countries, including the statutory cap on resale. If legislation is introduced, it must benefit consumers and it must not give rise to unintended consequences. The Minister is examining the issue.
The Minister of State stated the obvious again regarding the problem. What legislative plans does the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, have to address this undoubted and widespread problem? There have been promises to tackle it. Last February, she said she would bring forward proposals "in the near future". Reference to Private Members' Bills is beside the point. Neither of those Bills is being progressed in a serious way. There has not been a money message, for example, in respect of the Bill that was debated recently. There is a problem and the public are being ripped off by ticket prices and ticket touting for concerts and sporting events. Will the Minister take legislative action in this regard? If so, when we can we expect the legislation?
Any legislation that is put in place must be in the interests of music or sports fans.
Of course.
While the Minister remains open to some form of price cap legislation, she has to consider all the options.
She has been considering them for a long time.
These include a ban on the use of bots to purchase tickets and a requirement on ticket resellers and secondary ticket platforms to indicate the row and seat numbers, where applicable, and standing area number of tickets. In addition to benefitting consumers, a mandatory information requirement of this kind would facilitate event organisers to cancel tickets resold in breaches of terms of privacy. All these issues have to be taken into consideration. There are thousands of sporting and entertainment events.
If one boils it down to the concerts which give rise to problems, they number no more than 50 per year. We saw recently with Ed Sheeran that because there were three concerts there was no real problem with ticket sales.
The Government is not going to do anything.
The Minister is considering the options. We need good legislation here. That is the important point.
When will we see that legislation?
We are not going to introduce legislation just for the sake of it. The Minister is currently examining the two Private Members' Bills and following that examination, she will consider her options.
