I am calling on Deputy Lyons. I understand he will speak until 7.25 p.m.
Private Members' Business. - Cork Unemployment: Motion.
I move:
That Dáil Éireann calls on the Government to undertake an immediate programme of action to combat the appalling unemployment situation in Cork city and county.
It has long been known that, in relation to the remainder of the country, the Cork area has suffered badly from the recession, that many of our traditional, high employment industries, have disappeared taking with them into oblivion many hundreds of jobs. The construction industry in the whole area is in the doldrums with the area suffering the consequences of this lack of activity. What little has been done to date by the Government to correct this situation has been too piecemeal to be of any value. The local job creation agencies are doing what they can but it has become abundantly clear that the initiative required to correct the situation must emanate from the Government.
I might recall the establishment of the task force to report specifically on the situation in Cork. It must be said that they approached their work with commendable speed, their terms of reference being the specific objective of bolstering the Cork area with their report. Despite many requests that report has never been published and, like others, I still wonder why not. It prompts me to pose the question, does it contain something which the Government believe the public should not be aware of? If that is so, then I pose the further question, why? Apart from the right to know, the whole affair is symptomatic of the manner in which the Cork area is being treated by this Government. It is a matter to which we believe the most urgent attention must now be given. We propose this motion in the hope that it will prompt the Government into taking the necessary action and initiative in our area.
The latest live register figures show a staggering 25,194 people unemployed in Cork city and county. In 1981 Cork had 8.6 per cent of its labour force unemployed. That figure has now more than doubled, at 17 per cent. In 1982 in the city alone there were 12.8 per cent unemployed rising steadily to 17 per cent in 1983, to 21 per cent in 1984 and still rising. Yet the Taoiseach has said on many occasions that we have turned the corner, that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I suggest that he will need to turn a few more corners and see more light in many more tunnels as unemployment continues to rise, emigration grows and closures continue.
We have suffered already from the closures of traditional industries and many others that have not had the dubious distinction of national notoriety. Many firms went out of business when these traditional businesses ceased to operate, the many service-supporting businesses that have ceased to operate and many others are just managing to hold on with reduced staff numbers. In this regard we have experienced the cosmetic exercise of globe-trotting Ministers of this Government giving the impression that they were wooing alternative industry to Cork, and they came home empty-handed.
I should like to deal specifically with an industry that should be given every encouragement. I speak of the construction industry. In what I have to say in this respect I hope I would be somewhat more positive — indeed it would not be difficult for me to be more positive — than the Government. It is recognised and accepted that spending on construction is the quickest way to generate employment, the construction industry being highly labour-intensive. While the ratio of labour and materials varies in individual projects, on average labour accounts for 40 per cent of costs. Eighty per cent of materials required are home produced, the majority being produced /assembled in Cork by Cork-based companies, for example, sand, gravel, blocks, roof trusses, windows, doors, paint etc. Need I continue? The spin-off effects would be most advantageous to the Cork area. Once completed construction projects become a tangible asset serving to improve the standard of living, whether through the improvement of roads, the provision or improvement of sanitary services, houses, office accommodation etc.
The creation of a proper infrastructure is important to the manufacturing and commercial well-being of the State. I suggest that at least we maintain the jobs of those at present employed in the construction industry in Cork and create and maintain additional construction jobs in the Cork area. That constitutes the key note. As I have said, it is widely accepted that spending on construction constitutes the quickest way of generating employment. Why must we have to repeat this to this Government who seem to be closed off in their attitude to the construction industry? It is important that it be recognised and accepted that the Cork area is one warranting special treatment at least for a period of time. The existing proposals in relation to the infrastructural needs of the area can be accelerated and commenced, and should be commenced, as soon as possible. The necessary road works, bridges and so on, have all been clearly identified. In a report known as LUTS — short for Land Use or Transportation Study — it is maintained that the existence of that plan is fortuitous and points to the fact that a considerable amount of preliminary work has already been done. Consequently, the lead-in time from decision to commencement of work would be relatively short.
On a point of order, while I appreciate the presence of the Minister in the House I am concerned that the subject of debate is not his responsibility. Although I hold him in very high esteem I do not think it fair to Cork or to Cork Members that the Minister responsible is not in this House.
That is not a point of order. The Chair has no control over the Minister who sits in for a debate.
It is a reflection on the Government, then, Sir.
I support my colleague on the point he has just made. Of course he is more experienced in the matter of protocol than am I. To be quite honest, I was surprised that officials were not here.
He is here.
About time. It is about time they flushed him out.
The trend in the reduction of the number of new private houses being built was evident already by the doubling of value-added tax in this budget which will accelerate that trend. In Cork county the number of new private houses completed in 1981 was 2,486. In 1982 it was 2,104, in 1983, 1,700, in 1984, 1,313. In the city area in 1983, 737 private houses were completed, which dropped to 607 in 1984. This decline must be halted. One of the main ingredients missing in the construction industry is confidence. Since the beginning of this year at least 14 construction companies have ceased trading. The majority are in voluntary liquidation. These were companies struggling to survive and they found the cost of insurance premiums, employers' liability and so on too high. There was also a lack of incentive for private investment. The doubling of the VAT was the straw that broke the camel's back in their effort to continue trading. Despite every effort by this party and the CIF to convince the Government that that 5 per cent was a killer blow, they introduced it in the Finance Bill. It is too early yet to forecast accurately the number of private houses to be completed this year but I can say with a degree of certainty that it will be much below last year's level. The real effect of the budget on housing construction will not be felt until 1986.
This Government have let the Cork area down in many ways. For instance the free port area for Ringaskiddy was announced in May 1984 amid a great hullabaloo.
That was before the European elections.
That announcement was timed to come before the European elections on the 14th of the following month. We have waited almost 12 months for the introduction of the legislation to give effect to this free port area promised by the Government. Despite the number of times that I and my colleagues from Cork raised this matter in the house there has been no indication that the required legislation will be introduced. I presume we will have some announcement before 20 June next.
In relation to oil exploration, the formal establishment of Cork as an official base for oil exploration in the Celtic Sea, and as a base in the event of oil being found in commercial quantities off the south coast, would have had a tremendous effect on the area. But the Government parties could not agree as to what they would offer the oil companies. We had some sort of an agreement last week but while the Government were foostering and having ideological problems, Cork was gradually going down the river. Cork has a tradition of servicing oil rigs and has many years of experience in heavy industry. Much of the servicing for oil companies could have been done from Cork dockyard but the Government with their 48 per cent stake holding in VCD closed it down. Included among the promises we had was one from the Minister in the House who told us that negotiations were at an advanced stage with people outside this country who would reopen the dockyard. Unless Fianna Fáil get back into Government that dockyard will not be reopened for shipbuilding, ship repairs and the servicing of oil rigs and so on. Cork also possesses storage and jetty facilities and a refinery at Whitegate.
The expansion of natural gas services in the area is very important. The discovery and bringing ashore of natural gas from the Kinsale Head should have been followed by work to pipe this gas to houses and factories over a wider area of Cork. This would create substantial amounts of work and we would have had a network of gas pipes which would have helped to attract industry to the area. This would also help our balance of payments since it would reduce our bill for the importation of oil.
There is no doubt that there are enormous sums of private money available for investment in industry. This money would be invested if a climate which would restore confidence to industry and to the Cork area were created by the Government. Only the Government through their policies can give a lead in restoring confidence. If we had some new thinking, new initiatives and a commitment to the Cork area we could restore confidence. The entire Cork area is in a very depressed state as regards employment but it need not continue to be so if the Government agreed that Cork deserves priority treatment so as to restore Cork to its rightful place as the centre of activity in the south.
The policy of decentralisation was part and parcel of our commitment to Cork and we promised that An Foras Forbartha would be brought to Cork, but on the change of Government, because it suited one Minister to tell his constituents that An Foras Forbartha would not go to Cork, the decision was changed. The housing and office accommodation markets are at a low ebb but if even one Government Department were transferred to Cork it would give a tremendous fillip to the area and would create a demand for office accommodation and for residential accommodation. This would create confidence in this area of activity and would encourage further development as well as encouraging the financial institutions to invest. How long will this Government wait? We keep telling them what they ought to do for Cork but it goes in one ear and out two ears.
The passenger car ferry would be a life line for the south-west area. The Government must be indicted for neglecting the south-west area by not providing a car ferry. An allocation of £5,000 towards the efforts of the local groups, the local authorities, Cork Corporation and Cork County Council, towards the contributions for the provision of that ferry, was welcome, but the Minister and the Government dillied and dallied about it and the £500,000 commitment given on a once-off basis was too little and very much too late.
The ferry must be provided and the Government, even at this late stage, should make a positive decision and instruct the State companies to provide it for the benefit of the region, for the benefit of trade, commerce and industry and, in particular, tourism. We are all conscious of the fact that Cork is celebrating the 800th anniversary of the granting of its charter and this is an opportunity for the Government, presented by the people of Cork, to provide a ferry to bring the visitors to the city to celebrate this occasion. However, the Government have let those who wish to visit the city down. Those people cannot blame Cork people. The local authorities in the area provided the encouragement. They got together and sought a commitment from the Government but the Government's help was too little and too late.
I should like to recall the threat of resignations made by Government TDs in the Cork area. One of those Members got banner headlines in a local newspaper when he declared that if Cork did not get the ferry he would resign his seat. We do not have a ferry in Cork, and since Members have not been called to the Cork area for a by-election campaign, we have not had any resignations from the House. So much for credibility.
In conjunction with unemployment in the area we have the twin evil of emigration which has surfaced again, especially unprepared emigration. It is understandable and regrettable that people who cannot find work at home would wish to try their luck overseas. The Government cannot even tell us how many people have left seeking work abroad. The country is losing people with valuable skills and professions. Such people will certainly be needed in the future. When we return to Government we will have need of them but the Coalition do not have any need. All that is left for them is the emigrant ship. Young people are being put at risk. Many of those leaving our shores go abroad on speck in the hope that something will turn up.
I should like to remind my colleagues from the Cork area on the Government benches about the promised political influence indicated in the Cork region in the last election. People were asked brightly and often to vote for Fine Gael and give Cork political influence. So much for the political influence that the Cork people gave them when returning a majority of Government Deputies. The Government have not made any effort to tackle the problem of unemployment. They have destroyed the confidence of our people, have demoralised our youth and are unable to give incentive, leadership or encouragement to create even an attitude of mind in the people to help them out of the morass in which they have found themselves. By not addressing the problem of unemployment the Government seem to be totally unaware of the many consequences that arise socially and otherwise from the present unacceptable position. The Government are engaged in a public relations exercise like that which took place during the most important debate of the year, the budget debate when introducing a supposed amendment to the 1979 Act dealing with family planning. In Cork we are not looking for condoms or abortions; we are looking for jobs and for our industry to be restored to the level it was when the Government took office. Shame on the Government.
Our motion calls on the Government to undertake an immediate programme of action to combat the appalling unemployment problem in Cork. We are not here to try to gain political points on this serious matter. I do not think any Deputy, irrespective of his or her political affiliations, will deny that the problem in Cork has reached disaster level. Unless the Government are prepared to respond immediately many more problems will arise in the months ahead. Unfortunately, I do not have the time to outline the many areas where jobs can be created. I recommend that the Minister gives further consideration to the submissions made by the Cork task force on unemployment by the building construction industry. Those submissions contain a litany of projects that would result in immediate employment for many people.
The building industry is the most obvious area to be considered. Labour content is high in that sector and has an enormous spin-off effect. Many projects have been accepted already as necessary for the Cork area such as the erection of new education establishments and the extension of existing ones. There is a need for a comprehensive housing programme but that has been held up due to a lack of finance. The proposal to build a new juvenile detention centre in Cork jail is worthy of comment. We are all aware that the Government place a lot of emphasis on what is happening in our cities and towns but although the provision of a new juvenile detention centre in Cork would mean employment for 100 people the project is not going ahead. The extraordinary thing is that the project was approved as far back as 1979. There is little use in any of us deploring the increase in crime, the stealing of cars and the spate of house robberies if the Government do not provide the money to erect a detention centre for such vandals. The building has been designed and is ready to go ahead when the Government provide the money.
Many of the projects will be future assets to the Cork area. There is an urgent need for an extension of the runway at Cork airport to facilitate tourist traffic. Tourism plays a major part in the economic development of the Cork and Kerry regions. Nobody will deny that money invested in that industry will create employment. A number of our textile industries have survived the recession. A financial injection now could create more jobs. The Minister should request An Bord Pleanála to make immediate decisions on some of the many appeals which are held up in the Cork area.
I am confining my contribution to areas where I know employment can be created. I would like to know from the Minister, as Deputy Lyons has already touched on——
Where is Deputy Lyons?
He was here when the Minister was not here.
He was talking. He does not think much of Deputy Wyse if he would not stay to listen to him.
At least he did not show the scant regard for the House which the Minister——
I was at a Government meeting and I am here now. The Opposition's spokesman has disappeared and is not here to hear what Deputy Wyse has to say.
I am sure that Deputy Lyons has a meeting outside also. I would like to know from the Minister what development has taken place regarding Verolme Cork dockyard. Here we had one of the most modern engineering establishments in this country, yet the Government have done little or nothing to revitalise that industry. I do not want to go back over the Minister's words, but he promised this House that everything possible would be done to encourage an interested party who we understood at the time was from Great Britain or Germany but no statement has been made by the Government, the Minister or any spokesman of the Government party on this industry. The former workers, who now line the dole queues, are asking what is going on in the yard at the moment. We know that some kind of activity is going on there, yet nobody seems to know what it is. I ask the Minister tonight that in his reply he might give us some up to date report on what efforts he, his Government or anybody else is making to reopen this most important industry.
I would like to mention here tonight something I have taken a very keen interest in and I would like the Minister to take particular notice of it. Efforts should now be made to prepare a register of the number of young people in the Cork area who have not completed their period of apprenticeship to various trades because of redundancies or lack of sponsorship. I ask that arrangements be made to include them in a special grants scheme for youth employment so that they could be employed in their own trades and be given the necessary opportunity to complete their apprenticeship training. At least they would have equal opportunity of seeking employment as fully qualified people in their own trades. It is vital to this nation to know that our young people are ready and fully qualified to contribute to the building of our future economy. I am making a special appeal to the Minister. I have done a great deal of work in trying to get statistical information about the many young boys and girls who have been employed for a period in a trade and who because of the recession were deprived of qualifying in their trade. If nothing else is achieved tonight I ask the Minister to give this aspect careful consideration together with his colleague, the Minister for Labour. It is terrible to be a young boy or girl going around being called an unbaked or a half-baked tradesperson. It is affecting not only Cork but the whole nation.
Hear, hear.
Tremendous work has been done by AnCO, building industries and so on, but unfortunately because of the recession those young people are being deprived of their right to qualify as full tradespersons in their own trades.
Finally, the protection of our existing industries in Cork must be the concern of all. The recent increase in employer liability insurance must give cause for great concern. The impact of this enormous increase by insurance companies will undoubtedly close down some of our industries, especially the smaller ones. If not, certainly it will mean the laying off of many employees. I contacted the Minister some weeks ago on this matter and I am hoping for some very positive action by the Government in this respect. The impact of this increase will do untold damage to the whole structure of our economy especially where industry is concerned. I hope the Minister will report very shortly to this House, to the nation and to the many people who are out there trying to establish little industries to provide their own living and who are now forced out of business because of this enormous increase in employer liability insurance. We must place great emphasis on this.
I ask the Minister not to delay in making some statement on what is happening. I know that he must be inundated with requests from industries throughout the length and breadth of the country because of this increase in employer liability insurance. I hope that the insurance companies will face up to their responsibility for the welfare of our industry.
I move amendment No. 1:
To delete all the words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:—
"concerned about the level of unemployment generally, endorses the policies being pursued by the Minister and the Government to promote investment and to create the economic and financial conditions in which new employment can be created throughout the country including Cork City and County."
There is not much point in this sort of motion. Here people are trying to pretend that the problem of unemployment is somehow unique to Cork. The fact is that every part of Ireland is suffering from unemployment at the moment and no good will be served simply by taking resources away from one part of the country and giving them to another. That does not solve the unemployment problem, it simply disadvantages one area to the advantage of another. We must remember that we are one country, and there is too much of this sort of thing from the other side of the House. If those talking happen to be Cork Deputies they say that Cork has all the problems; if they are Kerry Deputies they say that Kerry has all the problems. It is a pity to see a party who used to be a national party taking such a sectional view of our national problems. We must have a national view of how to solve this problem and we must have national unity in regard to solving it; not national unity in the political Tone-imposed sense that the people opposite occasionally try to use for electoral purposes but national unity to try to restore the economic self-confidence of our people.
The type of wailing we have been listening to from the Deputies opposite for the last 45 minutes does nothing to restore national confidence. Indeed, the solutions they are putting forward are totally false. If I had a calculator to hand I am sure I would calculate that the two Deputies who have spoken promised to spend something in the region of £115 million. They said that if they had their way all these promises would be carried out, but where in God's name is the money to come from? Do they not think that people are paying enough taxation? Do they really think that if the Government spend more money that would solve the unemployment problem? Of course it will not. All it will do is lead to higher taxation, and people are paying enough taxation already.
The public spending handout approach to the solution of the unemployment problem advocated by Deputy Lyons and Deputy Wyse simply will not work in Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary or any other part of the country and the sooner we face the realities of the unemployment problem and get away from this type of political posturing the better. This is pure opportunism on the part of the Deputies opposite. Instead of using this time to discuss the true issues facing the economy, they decide to bring in a motion this week dealing with Cork. I presume next week the motion will be about Kerry and the following week about Limerick, with Deputies saying the same things but with the geography changed. That is not making a contribution to solving any problem. What we want and should be getting from the Opposition, but we have not had it yet, are serious proposals which are an alternative to those being pursued by the Government. They have not produced serious proposals——
I have made proposals——
(Interruptions.)
——about any important issue as far as this nation is concerned, and it is time we started looking on this country as a nation and taking a national view of our problems rather than the parochial view being taken by Deputies opposite, and presumably which will be taken by another set of Deputies from the same party next week in respect of another part of the country and so on. The Deputies should cop themselves on and realise that this sort of approach does not convince anyone.
The Minister's colleague is impressed.
I will put some facts on the record. Let me be frank about it, there has been an unacceptably large increase in unemployment in Cork in the last year due to a number of factors — the recession, the very rapid growth in the labour force and the fact that there are more people seeking jobs for the first time than there are retiring but, unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about that.
There is, if the Government had the will.
Those people are there and we have to provide for them. I recognise that there is a very serious unemployment problem but to pretend, as Deputy Lyons and Deputy Wyse do——
We are not pretending.
——that this problem is in some way unique to Cork is foolish. The situation is quite the opposite. Taking the figures from February 1984 to February 1985 we see that there has been a smaller increase in unemployment in Cork than in the State generally, yet the Opposition are looking for special treatment in an area where there has been a smaller increase than in the rest of the country.
Try to sell that.
(Interruptions.)
The rate of increase in unemployment in Cork between February 1984 and February 1985 was 7.6 per cent, while the rate of increase nationally was 8.1 per cent.
There has been a substantial number of enterprises in Cork where there have been increases in employment. If the Deputies opposite wanted to do a good day's work for their city, they would be talking about the good things that are happening in Cork, the people who are helping themselves and are successful, instead of this type of wailing. What we need are people on both sides of this House to build up the confidence of the people in Cork and elsewhere and tell them what they can do to help themselves.
The Minister is admitting failure.
I want to give a few examples of success stories in Cork. I am not taking credit for them on behalf of the Government because the Government do not deserve and do not claim credit for them. The credit rests with those positive thinking people in Cork who are doing something about their problems rather than wailing like those on the other side of the House. Carridoun Potteries took on 45 employees last year; Bourns Electronics (Ireland) Limited have created 36 new jobs; Iprodex Manufacturing Limited, an extra 67 new jobs; Irish Crown Cork Company Limited, an extra seven new jobs; Lierbert International, 94 jobs, Western Digital (Ireland) Limited, 89 extra jobs; Blarney Handcrafts, 50 extra jobs; Mechcon Limited, 92 extra jobs; CPT Limited, 49 extra jobs; and Sunbeam Limited, 51 extra jobs. Let me stress that I am not taking the credit, and the Government do not deserve the credit, for these extra jobs. The people who deserve the credit are the businessmen and the workers who built those industries, who found new markets overseas and who were able to create extra jobs. In most cases these are Cork people who made good in Cork. It is about time Fianna Fáil gave a little credit to what is achieved in their own county by the people who got on with the job rather than coming to this House looking for special treatment. Nobody in this country needs special treatment; what people need is encouragement. They are not getting it from the Opposition but they are getting it, and will continue to get it, from the Government. I would like to tell the House some of the things we are doing ——
On a point of order, the Minister has circulated a statement but he is making a completely different statement from that issued to the press.
That is not a point of order.
The Minister should say to the press what he is saying to this House.
Deputy Wyse is right. This is dishonest.
Deputies may read the script if they wish.
The Minister to continue without interruption, please.
The Minister does not have to speak in divers tongues.
We have made an order designating the Churchfield, Togher and Hollyhill estates for additional grants in order that small industries can be attracted into the centre of the city. We have designated the Ringaskiddy area for additional grants to attract additional industries. We are developing a food city in the Midleton area. At present the IDA are negotiating with Nordic Cold Storage Limited, Midleton, concerning the sale of factory space for this food city, and a brochure on the concept to be promoted internationally is being drawn up at this time. As far as the commitment in the task force plan for Cork is concerned, we have already established downstream activities for the new plant Biotechnology (UCC) Limited. This company is in operation and employing a number of people. The official opening is to be performed in the near future by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Peter Barry. I have no doubt that the Deputies opposite will be there on that occassion to complain as they are doing this evening.
(Interruptions.)
The IDA executive committee have also approved the development of the National Microelectronics Design Centre for Cork and, as an interim measure, space for this is to be provided in the form of 600 square feet in the enterprise centre. Two overseas companies have already expressed interest in locating in the National Microelectronics Design Centre — Altira and Silico Systems. These are things which are going on in Cork and of which the Deputies opposite seem to be blissfully unaware.
The construction of the enterprise centre in Cork is under way and is expected to be completed in August or September 1985. Furthermore, small industries clinics were conducted in 14 towns in Cork during 1984 in accordance with the commitment in the task force report to pay particular attention to small industry promotion. I also emphasise that as far as the solution of Cork's problems is concerned what is needed is co-operation between all the interests in Cork, and in particular between the Chamber of Commerce and the trade union movement. One of the commitments given in this regard was that the IDA would discuss with the Cork Chamber of Commerce and the trade union representatives the establishment of a community self-help centre in Cork city on the lines of the walk-in centre operated by the IDA in Dublin. I ask the Cork interests and the Cork Deputies to get the Chamber of Commerce and the trade union movement together on this. Unfortunately, the IDA seem to have had difficulty in getting these two interests to meet with them to do something about this. If Deputies opposite want to do something positive for Cork I suggest that they use their good offices, if such they have, to get these local interests working together with the IDA for the establishment of the walk-in centre.
(Interruptions.)
However, I am glad to be able to tell the House that the IDA have agreed to participate in a working group involving Cork Chamber of Commerce, the NBST, Cork Corporation, the county council and UCC to examine the feasibility of the establishment of a Cork business and technology centre as recommended in the study Cork Towards 800 — Crisis and Opportunity. This study is being commissioned by the EC and was carried out originally by Conal Fanning. The IDA are acting on those important recommendations.
These are the ways in which the problems of this city and county will be solved. They will be solved by people getting together and taking risks, going overseas and looking for markets. I have led a number of trade missions in the recent past, two of them to the Middle East. I hope to leave on another mission to Spain this year. I want to see more Cork companies travelling overseas on export promotion. If people in Cork want more jobs, the place to find them is not in Leinster House, Merrion Street or Kildare Street. That is not where they will find viable jobs. They will find viable jobs in the market place in France, Germany, Spain, the Middle East and Britain.
What is the Minister talking about?
Deputy Lyons was not interrupted during his speech.
Deputies opposite who are genuinely concerned about finding a solution to the employment problem should urge companies in Cork to become involved in exports. If any Cork firm has found difficulty in obtaining representation on a trade mission I should like to know about it. I am quite sure there has been none. I challenge Deputies opposite to get more Cork firms involved in exporting. I would urge Cork County Council and the local IDA development board, in conjunction with Córas Tráchtála, to set a target whereby within the next 12 months 100 Cork firms will be involved in exporting who are not doing so now. That would be a realistic target which would involve positive action by the people concerned.
What about a ferry?
We will not make progress unless people are prepared to take action of this kind. I can assure Deputies that the IDA are continuing with my full support actively to promote Cork for foreign industry. I am glad to say that in 1984 there were 107 first-time site visits for foreign industries to Cork. These were industrial promoters from all over the world and negotiations are proceeding with some of them with a view to bringing new projects into being in Cork. That such a large number of foreign industrialists could be brought to Cork in a 12-month period indicates the commitment of the IDA to solving the problems of Cork, a commitment in which they have the full support of the Government. In addition to the 107 first-time visits there were return visits from a further 33 companies, giving a figure of approximately 140 firms brought from overseas to Cork by the IDA. All of them were given an extensive programme, probably spending three or four days in Cork, visiting ten, 12 or 14 local industries, talking to all the agencies, discussing at considerable expense to the IDA all the possibilities for locating in Cork. If that fact does not demonstrate that this Government are committed, together with the IDA and their agencies, to solving the problems of Cork and bringing additional industry to the city, I do not know what proof is required. That is the most eloquent proof that could be produced. I will repeat as many times as necessary to convince Deputies opposite that the problem will not be solved by the IDA, by the Government or by fatuous motions of the kind before the House.
I thought the Minister had all the answers.
It will be solved by the efforts of people in Cork to sell their goods, set up new companies and take risks.
Tell that during the local elections to the 25,000 unemployed in Cork.
I will talk about the 25,000 unemployed if that is necessary. This Government have introduced more measures to help people who are unemployed to do something to help themselves than any previous Government. Was the enterprise allowance scheme introduced by the party opposite? It was not. Was the social employment scheme introduced by the party opposite? It was not. Was the team work scheme introduced by the party opposite? It was not. All these are measures designed to help people who are unemployed to set up their own businesses, to improve their skills to enable them to apply for jobs. All these initiatives were thought up and implemented by this Government without any prompting or help or suggestions from the people opposite, who deal only in negative criticism. We have to carry entirely alone the burden of producing positive ideas. No positive ideas such as those I have mentioned in relation to the longterm unemployed are emanating from Deputies opposite tonight.
This Government established the Cork Small Industries Board. There were unemployment problems in Cork when the previous Government were in office but they would not trust local initiative and local IDA people to make decisions about Cork. All these decisions had to be taken in Dublin while the previous Government were in office. This Government have established a Cork Small Industries Board with business people from Cork sitting alongside IDA personnel making decisions about Cork projects and industrial expansion. That is the way it should be. We have confidence in the ability of Cork people to make decisions about their own future. We did not demand that these issues be centralised in Dublin, as was the case before we came into office. Since we established the Cork Small Industries Board a total of 111 projects involving additional employment and output have been approved by that board and the total investment figure arising from these 111 projects is £5.65 million. The total number of jobs to be created as a result of these projects is 872, all a result of the devolution of responsibility to the people in Cork to run their own local Small Industries Board. This clearly indicates an approach which is deserving of support from those who give the matter serious thought.
We will support that if it is true.
The Deputy should allow the Minister to speak. He was not interrupted during his own speech.
During the past week I had the pleasure of announcing that High Voltage Engineering Corporation have agreed to take over the former Beehive factory in Fermoy. This is a major development involving the Government in rescuing an industry, established by a previous Government, which ran into difficulty and replacing it with a new industry which has a better future. In Macroom General Semi-Conductors Limited have embarked on the second phase of their project to manufacture voltage suppressors.
It is established already.
Of course it is established already. I said they were embarking on the second phase. Obviously the first phase is completed. BCD installations, a small industry project based in Charleville, are also performing well and have increased employment.
These indicate some of the measures the Government are introducing. I know that you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, are concerned about employment not just in your own constituency but in the nation at large, unlike some of the Deputies opposite. I know that I have a sympathetic ear in the Chair, if nowhere else, in this debate. The Chair will appreciate that the problems of Cork will be solved not just by local initiative but also by the national policies pursued by the Government. Today I announced details of the operation of the National Development Corporation——
(Interruptions.)
——which will have a major impact on the unemployment problem.
Before the Labour Party conference.
(Interruptions.)
Deputy Lyons should conduct himself.
I should like to indicate, if time permits——
(Interruptions.)
I was speaking to Deputy Lyons but perhaps Deputy Fitzgerald would conduct himself also.
I will not accept that sort of schoolmaster approach from the Chair.
The Deputy should conduct himself.
The Minister timed the announcement for the Labour Party conference but the people will not be fooled. After 28 months the announcement has finally been made.
So the Deputy has returned. The National Development Corporation will be concerned first with improving the equity base of Irish manufacture. There are many Irish companies who must rely unduly on bank borrowing. Unfortunately, when times are rough those companies find themselves in trouble because their bank managers are demanding interest on the nail. There is a need for more equity in Irish business, more risk capital and investors who will not be demanding a return until a company are making a profit. One of the important jobs of the corporation will be to invest equity in Irish companies and thereby to leave them less reliant on the bank manager and to put them in a more healthy state.
In doing this, the corporation will be operating alongside what the Government initiated by way of the business expansion scheme, a scheme that will be improved radically by means of the Finance Bill this year and whereby private individuals who have money to spare will be given a very generous tax incentive to put their money into manufacturing. Too many people in this country regard the only profitable investment as being in the area of property, in houses, office blocks or some other non-productive form of asset. By way of the expansion of the scheme we will be encouraging more people to put money to productive use while assuring them of the support and partnership of the National Development Corporation in improving the equity base of Irish industry and consequently its profits and export promotion. Many good ideas for new jobs emanate from the universities and Cork can be proud to have one of the best universities in northern Europe.
Hear, hear.
The best.
There are people of outstanding quality in UCC. The National Microelectronics Research Centre is just one example of what people can do for themselves.
Thanks to the support we gave them.
We do not hear the people involved in that centre wailing as the Deputies are wailing. My point is that the people in UCC should avail of the opportunities that will be provided by the National Development Corporation. One of the mandates of the corporation will be specifically to invest in research based ideas, in ideas emanating from the universities, from the regional technical colleges and NIHE. More of those people in academic life should become involved in enterprise, be prepared to take risks, to set up some businesses and to put their ideas — brilliant as they are — to the test in the market place. There are great opportunities in Cork for such ventures. The people are there and the money is there so far as the Government are concerned to back ideas emanating from UCC. If the Deputies opposite wish to do something productive and useful, I suggest that on their way back to Cork they invite the people concerned in UCC to avail of the opportunities that are being presented by the National Development Corporation but Deputies must do so quickly because Deputy Allen has an unparalleled record in promoting university based industrial activity. Deputies opposite will need to be fast to keep up with him either in this or in any other endeavour on behalf of the people of Cork.
At times he is competing with his colleague.
It is very important that small companies have the opportunity of co-operating with other companies experiencing similar problems in regard to developing to their full potential. It is not feasible for a ten or 15 man operation in, say, the clothing business to have a marketing manager in France and another in Britain; but if ten clothing companies in Cork or elsewhere, each employing from ten to 15 people, joined together, it would be possible for them to have a marketing manager not only in London or Paris but in Glasgow or Bonn as well. By way of the National Development Corporation and of the group marketing scheme launched by Córas Tráchtála, a scheme that is being promoted aggressively at present, we will provide financial assistance to small firms to enable them to come together and consequently to succeed in ways in which they could not succeed individually. These ideas were not in existence when Fianna Fáil were in Government. They have come into being only since this Government were returned to office. We are the only people who are thinking seriously about finding real and lasting solutions to the problem of unemployment.
The Government are only thinking.
(Interruptions.)
Order, Deputies, please.
I am well aware that when in Government the party opposite tried to find a quick fix to every problem. Their answers involved spending money we did not have or in solving problems that they had not identified properly or understood. We all know where that policy led the country. It led to an unparalleled burden of debt. The quick solutions advocated by the Deputies opposite will not work. They will not be adopted by this Government. We believe in finding lasting solutions to the problems of the country.
There are almost 250,000 people unemployed.
The Government are committed to working together with the people of Cork in finding positive and lasting solutions to the problems of that area. The people of Cork have the ability to solve their problems so long as they have confidence in themselves and if only people on the benches opposite would stop wailing and instead talk of what is good about their native city and county. That is the way to encourage the people to do better. It is the way we will begin to make progress.
(Interruptions.)
Silence, please.
The Minister deserves to be congratulated for departing from the Government practice to which we have become accustomed in the past three years and announcing details of the National Development Corporation. Up to now important statements were made on television or made known to us by way of the Press instead of by way of this House.
Obviously, the Minister realises that his record and the record of the Government generally is indefensible because he proceeded to cloud the issue under discussion by a stream of invective. Now he has left the House.
On a point of order, I have just learned that the Minister referred to my leaving the House and then returning, but now he has left.
The Chair has no control over such matters.
The Chair does not seem to have control over anything.
The Deputy is totally out of order.
I withdraw that last remark.
The point raised by the Deputy is not a point of order.
Deputies should stop the play acting. What the Minister meant was there was no spokesman on Industry in the House.
The motion calls on the Government to undertake an immediate programme of action to combat the appalling employment situation in Cork city and county. It is sad that again we must highlight the heart rending plight of the thousands of unemployed in our city and county and to make public the break up of families as a result of the lack of employment opportunities. Only yesterday morning I met three friends, young married men, who were on their way to England to seek work. Their families were being left at home.
It is a return to the fifties.
That is a horrifying aspect of the problem of unemployment not only in Cork but throughout the country. The Government are attempting to cloud the reality by way of their announcements that the recession is over. No doubt, between now and 20 June, the ills and problems of every area not only in Cork city and county but also Tipperary, will be solved. However, after the local elections, the reality will still be there.
The people know who created the problem.
The construction industry was the major employer in east Cork but that is no longer the case. If we had not had the construction of the holiday resort at Trobolgan, very few builders would have been working over the last year. The number of houses built has consistently fallen over the last five years, from 2,500 in 1981 to 1,300 in 1984. From speaking to some of the remaining builders, it is clear that fewer houses will be built in 1985. Among those emigrating are masons, carpenters, electricians and welders, skilled workmen who are essential for building houses, bridges and factories in future. If there is an improvement in the economy it will be very difficult to get these people to come home and we will be short of necessary skills in future. It is a catch 22 situation because the creation of proper infrastructure is essential for the future of the country. The Government, despite their cries, are borrowing but are not spending on capital programmes. They are merely spending to keep their own people happy.
(Interruptions.)
For the first time in a decade the employees of Imokilly Co-Operative in Mogeely, County Cork, have been transferred to cheese making. Farmers who make money spend it — despite what people say — on renovating old buildings and sheds and in putting up new sheds. However, the farming side of business has been hit over the last year, especially and their income has fallen dramatically. Consequently, the building programme of these people has been put aside until Fianna Fáil are returned to power. The abolition of the farm modernisation scheme has also contributed to the decline in building.
Sales of timber from the local sawmills have also fallen dramatically in the last three years and a number of builders' providers have gone into liquidation. Eight farms have closed down over the last 12 months due to lack of work. I was speaking to people recently whose businesses are barely staying afloat and they are afraid that they will not be able to keep going for much longer. One of the biggest and most crippling burdens is employers' liability. People are receiving bills this year which are 300 per cent greater than last year.
Who is responsible for that?
If this continues there will not be many companies left to pay insurance. The Government must take firm steps to alleviate the unholy mess in which the insurance business find themselves. I know of two firms who recently decided not to take on extra salesmen due to the increased insurance bill which they would have had to pay. The industry is in chaos and leadership must be forthcoming, if that is possible from the benches opposite.
(Interruptions.)
We do not want a dictatorship, which has been the case over the last three years. Cobh is one of the finest towns in the country but its soul is being embittered by the lack of employment opportunities available to the 1,100 people on the unemployment list there. For years Verolme Dockyard provided employment for over 1,000 people and they also trained apprentices for many crafts and trades. Due to the shortsightedness of the Government, Verolme is no more and their invaluable machinery is going to waste. This priceless facility should not be left rusting or sold for an unrealistic price.
Maritime Industries used to build trawlers in Cobh but they went into receivership in December 1982 with the loss of a couple of hundred jobs. There is now no shipbuilding or facilities for repair in the Cobh area, which is a shame not only for Cobh but for the country as a whole. We also have Irish Steel, but for how long? They are labouring under massive electricity charges which may be the albatross which will destroy them. It is common knowledge that a high powered delegation from the EC visited the plant very recently and one hopes that their report will be good. Midleton is a town which is well known for its whiskey but it is their only success in the last five years.
We reduced the price of whiskey.
Over 1,200 people are now on the unemployment list in Midleton exchange and that number is continuing to grow. East Cork Foods, a successful enterprise which employed between fulltime and seasonal staff about 400 people each year, now has a staff of around 20 people. In November 1982, when Fine Gael were electioneering, they said that there would be no threat to the workforce of East Cork Foods. The Coalition Government were formed in December. Where are East Cork Foods today?
(Interruptions.)
Another company was going to take over East Cork Foods but this has not turned out as planned. Only a small workforce of approximately 35 people has been employed by the new company. There has also been a complete change by this new company in relation to dealing with farmers. The same acreage is being harvested, but this year only half the number of farmers are growing the same acreage of peas. These are the big farmers and it is known that not many of them support the party on this side of the House. IMP was a successful business for many years but ran into difficult times. It was closed down for nine months. It was reopened and work practices were changed. There was better control. This is necessary if a company is to be successful. Another company, Woolcombers, closed down last year with a loss of 200 jobs.
The Government did not help there.
Another nail in the coffin. This company could have been helped and could have been kept alive. We must ask why this did not happen.
Why did Fianna Fáil not keep the Fastnet Co-operative alive?
(Interruptions.)
Is there any money for the pier?
One of the big hold ups in job creation in Midleton is the lack of a new sewerage scheme. This was sanctioned in 1982 but it has not yet commenced. The reason for the delay is that the Department of Communications will not give a foreshore licence. However, I am reliably assured that this licence will be granted in the very near future.
Before the local elections no doubt.
The Deputy made a fair amount of promises himself. He forgot about the people of west Cork when he went to Europe. I am waiting for the big industries the Deputy promised.
I am waiting for the Deputy to be silent.
I am waiting for the 800 jobs in Cork which the Government promised.
Who is in Europe?
It is important that the decision about the granting of the foreshore licence be a positive one. If the sewerage scheme does not go ahead the future for Midleton in the industrial sphere is very bleak. The town of Youghal on the mouth of the Blackwater was the textile centre of Ireland for many years with Youghal Carpets, Blackwater Cottons and Seafield Fabrics.
The good days of Youghal under Fianna Fáil.
Good time Charlies.
Over the last three years the town has become a ghost town except for two months of the year. Hundreds of people have emigrated out of this small town. Youghal Carpets and Seafield Fabrics fell victim to the recession but Blackwater Cottons was a factory which could have been saved. Government consultants and outside consultants all agreed on that, but what happened? There was no commitment from the Government to give the necessary guarantee for a small amount of money to enable the factory to continue trading. The closure of the factory is an indictment of the Fine Gael organisation, especially in east Cork. A small fishing co-operative is operating in the town of Youghal which covers from Ardmore to Ballycotton. But for this co-operative the fishermen would have no market for their fish. At present the problem of a relatively small catch is threatening the existence and life of the co-operative but they came up against a wall when they approached the Government agencies for help. Help should be given to them because the cost in the long run through unemployment benefit and assistance will be greater than the amount required now. A stitch in time saves nine.
It is a pity Fianna Fáil did not think of that ten years ago.
The Coalition were in power then.
The Government are committed to unemployment.
There was no recession except in the last five years.
Fianna Fáil did very little.
What about 175 jobs which were lost in Philips and the 250 jobs lost——
(Interruptions.)
Deputies, please. Deputy Ahern without interruption.
Cork should be declared a priority area. It has been hit on all sides, the agricultural, industrial and tourist sides. It is appreciated by all sides of the political divide that a ferry is absolutely necessary for the continued survival and growth of tourism in the south west region. However, what do we find? The Government hoodwinked the people, dilly dallied and finally offered £500,000——
That is £½ million.
They knew they would never have to pay that money.
(Interruptions.)
The Deputy does not belong to the Donnybrook set and that is why he does not get anything.
That is what the Deputy thinks.
(Interruptions.)
The hypocrisy of the Government has been noted on this issue and it will not be forgotten.
It was your Charlie who herded the cattle onto the boat in Waterford.
I do not see you herding cattle in Cork.
The Deputy has a new job now.
(Interruptions.)
Please conduct yourselves Deputies and allow Deputy Ahern to continue.
Cork Airport employs 450 directly and indirectly but unless it is updated with regard to the length of the tarmac and the installation of a more sophisticated landing system jobs will be in danger. Not only is it important for the people who are employed there that the airport be upgraded but it is vitally important for the growth of industry in the area and for the growth of tourism. It would make Cork, Kerry, west Waterford, south Tipperary and south Limerick more accessible.
In east Cork we have heard of potato factories springing up in Youghal, Midleton and Cobh. We will have so many potato factories that we will have trouble finding land in which to set and grow the potatoes. If we got one potato factory it would be enough. It is time to stop the kite flying and for positive action to be taken. I call on Government Ministers to stop waffling and to do something. In the Cork Examiner and the Evening Echo we constantly see Government backbenchers attacking Government decisions. These Deputies should either support Fianna Fáil or shut up.
What did Fianna Fáil do about a potato factory?
I suppose the Deputy will tell us the Government brought in Sir Walter Raleigh.
Any one who thinks of any part of Cork or of the country would be failing in conscience if they vote against the motion which was put before the House by Fianna Fáil.
Debate adjourned.