I had begun to reply to the debate on 6 December when the Dáil adjourned. I should like specifically to reply to points made by a number of Deputies who had expressed appreciation of the work of some of the bodies for which additional funds are being sought in the Supplementary Estimates. Deputy O'Toole referred to what he called the recent attack on the work of IIRS. I presume he was referring to some articles which had appeared in the newspapers, reporting on a study published by a US professor stating that the IIRS were failing in their task of aiding Irish industry.
The first point I should like to make in that respect is that nobody wishes to stifle constructive criticism of the IIRS. When it is valid, such criticism should be made; but there are certain matters in regard to the study which make it difficult to accept the sweeping generalisations in this report. I do not wish to give that report any status that it does not deserve by discussing it in detail. Suffice it to say that the research on which the report is based is years out of date. The study concentrated on a limited range of industries and a limited number of firms. Two big industries in an Irish context were not surveyed, for example, the engineering and construction sectors, in which the IIRS were very active.
The IIRS provide a broad range of 66 different services to industry. If one is in any doubt about the services which they provide he need only look at the IIRS Annual Report in which details of instances are given where the institute have successfully aided both domestic and foreign industry. I do not doubt that they will have to continue to extend their services. They have been doing that in recent years and I will encourage them to go on in that way so that a fuller service can be given to industry.
Contrary to the impression conveyed by Deputy O'Toole in his references to the recent IIRS Bill, the purpose of that Bill was not to place the institute at a disadvantage in borrowing vis-á-vis other State bodies but rather to give the institute powers to borrow which they do not have at the moment, and a flexibility through this borrowing which they also have not got. This will enhance the powers of the institute to carry out their functions. The Bill will strengthen rather than weaken their position.
Reference was made to the availability of credit for small industries. Deputy O'Toole may not be aware af the global loan facilities which have been negotiated with the European Investment Bank for small manufacturing industries. Since the original loan of £2.5 million was arranged in June 1978 three further loans totalling in all £20 million have been obtained from the bank. These moneys are lent by the Industrial Credit Company to small manufacturing firms at a fixed rate of interest over a period of up to ten years. The provision of these very attractive facilities and their rapid rate of take-up are convincing testimony of the Government's concern to ensure that the financing of small manufacturing firms will be secured.
Deputy O'Toole referred to the difficulties, both domestic and external, which have affected manufacturing industries here. I am pleased that notwithstanding these difficulties manufacturing industries have performed excellently in 1979. The March 1979 industrial inquiry report published by the Central Statistics Office shows that manufacturing employment was 8,300 higher than 12 months previously. The associated increase in manufacturing output was a healthy 7 per cent. This rapid pace of expansion was not alone maintained but intensified during the June 1979 quarter. Manufacturing output was 8 per cent higher than in the June 1978 quarter.
In 1979 the IDA for the first time carried out a mid-year employment survey the result of which indicates that by the end of June employment in manufacturing industry was about 6,600 up on the end of December figure. I am talking about December 1978. That increase almost matches the increase shown in the full year, 1978, and must be regarded as extremely encouraging. This figure of 6,600 is the net increase in manufacturing employment after all redundancies and losses of employment had been taken into account and allowed for. It is by far the highest figure that we have ever known in the history of the State, not just by a few percentage points or anything of that kind but in terms almost double the best that has been known for a long time, or indeed ever.
The IDA now expect to exceed by a significant margin their 1979 job approvals target of 30,000 which will make 1979 the best year ever for the promotion of new industrial projects, reflecting the buoyant level of activity in the industrial sector. Manufactured exports increased by over 25 per cent in value terms during the period January to September 1979. The position generally, therefore, in relation to manufacturing industry in this current year is extraordinarly good, notwithstanding difficulties which Deputy O'Toole and others pointed out and which are clear for all of us to see. It is not easy to envisage just how good the position would be if we were not subjected to these difficulties, both external and internal. There is no point in complaining about the external ones because we can do nothing about them. They do have a major influence. However, there may be some point in making reference to the internal factors which are inhibiting industrial development. Some of them are under our control as a people, and surely enough has been said in recent months to have made it clear to everybody what the dangers are, but, unhappily for all of us, certain courses of action seem to continue. If these internal inhibitions on growth, employment creation and so on did not exist we could almost certainly now or in the very near future have full employment here.
I am beginning to get complaints from industrialists in certain parts of the country about the inability to recruit workers. I would not like it to be thought that that is a general complaint throughout the country as a whole. Clearly, there are many areas still which need further employment creation and some of them need a good deal of it but there are areas in the country where it is not possible to create any more jobs because there is no one to work in them.