asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if, in view of the very serious unemployment position in Dublin city and county, he will make a statement on the plans, if any, of the IDA to provide additional employment in the Dublin area.
30.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin Employment.
29.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if, in view of the serious unemployment position in Tallaght, County Dublin, he will make a statement concerning the plans, if any, the IDA have to provide additional employment in the area.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 29 and 30 together.
In the review of their regional industrial plans now in progress, the Industrial Development Authority will have full regard to the unemployment situation in Dublin city and county.
The principal method to create new jobs and save existing ones in this area will be the expansion and strengthening of existing industry, but the authority will also assist in the establishment of suitable new industries there.
New projects and expansions of existing industries approved by the authority for Dublin city and county in the past two years have a potential of over 4,000 new jobs. This includes a number of projects in the Tallaght area, one of which, a new one, will, it is hoped, be announced shortly.
At present more than 600 people are on the live register in the Tallaght area. Surely the Minister is in a position to give greater details regarding the prospects of work for these people? I may be wrong but I think the industry to which he has referred will employ a great deal of female labour. I should like him to clarify that.
The Deputy has raised a point about the Tallaght area. Since people travel either a short distance or dozens of miles in some parts to get to work, statistics are not prepared in Dublin for particular sectors. There may be a short-fall in one area while there are employment opportunities in another area. I tried to say something specifically about the Tallaght area since that was the Deputy's second question. There is the industry to which I referred which will have some male employment but, with a city like Dublin, it is very difficult to break down sector by sector both the labour availability and the job availability. I do not think statistics of that kind exist for Dublin.
Would the Minister care to comment on the situation where one out of every four new jobs is created in the Dublin area?
In the past we had a situation where Dublin was getting top-heavy and where there was a specific and correct policy of directing employment away from Dublin. Now we have the attack of unemployment which is just as severe in Dublin as in other parts of the country. The Deputy has mentioned the figure of one in four new jobs. There are three million people in the country and there are approximately 750,000 in the Dublin conurbation and that seems about pro rata. In the past, and when I came into office, we had a specific policy of trying to direct industry away from Dublin but in the present circumstances we are happy to promote Dublin as hard as other areas because unemployment is biting here as well as in other parts.
Is the Minister in a position to state the number of inquiries he has had regarding the setting up of factories in Tallaght and in Dublin generally?
I will give information to the Deputy regarding inquiries but I will ask him to put down a question. It will take a week longer but I shall try to answer him in as much detail as possible.
The Minister mentioned his difficulty in indicating areas where he says there is job availability as against areas where there is unemployment. He was referring to the Tallaght area in connection with this question. However, in respect of the Dublin area generally, can the Minister tell us where there is job availability?
We are dealing with Tallaght.
The Chair grouped the two questions together.
One of the questions relates to the city and county of Dublin.
There is recruiting into employment all the time all over the city——
Where?
Is the Deputy really suggesting that nobody is being taken on in a new job anywhere in Dublin at the moment? The job losses are exceeding the new recruitment and that is a regrettable fact but recruitment is going on for new jobs all over Dublin. I agree it is not enough but certainly it is happening.
I am familiar with certain parts of Dublin, areas such as Finglas and Cabra. I do not know of any place in Dublin where people are being recruited and, therefore, I have difficulty in interpreting what the Minister is saying. If he tells me he knows that workers are being recruited in Finglas and Cabra I can go to those areas and find out if that is the true position. I should like him to tell me where people are being recruited for employment because I do not know.
I will endeavour to find that information for the Deputy if he will put down a question. It is obviously impossible to give a detailed answer for the whole of Dublin off the top of one's head. However, I will be as helpful as I can if I am asked about it.