I wish to share my time with Deputy Flanagan.
Adjournment Debate. - Tullamore Task Force.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I raise this issue at the request of the Labour Party councillors on Tullamore UDC and John Dwyer, the Labour Party candidate in Laoighis-Offaly in the forthcoming general election. Tullamore, in the middle of Offaly and part of the Laoighis-Offaly constituency, is being neglected by the Government. It is surrounded by the Celtic tiger. Many commuters who have moved to live in Tullamore and elsewhere may travel to work in the Celtic tiger economy but Tullamore is still waiting for part of the wealth being generated in the economy to arrive on its doorsteps.
However, the Government clearly does not care. The following jobs have been lost in Tullamore and adjoining areas in recent times: Lowe Alpine, 220 jobs; Snickers, 20 jobs and Daliber, 20 jobs in Tullamore; 60 jobs at Dawn Dairies in Moate and 90 jobs at Leonishe in Birr. Something has to be done quickly. A task force was established by Tullamore UDC at the instigation of the Labour Party and many others to address this issue and it has requested a meeting with the Tánaiste on a number of occasions without success. I received a mealy mouthed reply to a parliamentary question which I tabled on behalf of my colleagues in Tullamore and the constituency of Laoighis-Offaly from the Tánaiste and sadly, with due respect to the Minister of State who is present, her lack of presence in the House is yet another indication of the contempt she has for this particular problem.
The members of the task force are Mr. Sweeney, county manager and chairperson, Mr. Keyes, director of community and enterprise, Councillor J. Feely, chairman, Tullamore UDC, Councillor Flanagan, Tullamore UDC, Councillor Starling, Tullamore UDC, Mr. S. Ryan, chief executive, county enterprise board, Mr. S. Buggle, branch secretary, SIPTU, Mr. P. Conway, regional director, FÁS, Mr. Hyland, regional manager, IDA Ireland, Ms Geaney, regional manager, IDA Ireland, Mr. Mernagh, regional director, Enterprise Ireland and Mr. Naughton, president, Tullamore Chamber of Commerce.
This is a broadly representative group and it is issuing a cry for help to the Government and a demand that action be taken at a time of plenty. It is appropriate that a Fianna Fáil Minister of State is present to reply on this matter. Fianna Fáil does not care. The party has three seats in the constituency, which it takes for granted. Fianna Fáil also takes the people of Laoighis-Offaly for granted, which it has done for many years. The party can continue to ignore this constituency and concentrate its energy and largesse, as we saw earlier, on other projects elsewhere where it hopes to win additional votes because it takes its votes in Laoighis-Offaly for granted.
I want to ensure the task force meets the Tánaiste as a matter of urgency and I want the Minister of State to give that commitment unequivocally in the House tonight.
I thank the leader of the Labour Party for affording me an opportunity to support his call and to acknowledge the initiative and work undertaken by the Labour Party councillors, Mr. John Dwyer, the Labour Party candidate, and the Fine Gael councillors on Tullamore UDC, who have been very much crying in the wilderness where this issue is concerned. I welcome the raising of the issue by the leader of the Labour Party in the House. Tullamore has become a jobs black spot and has been totally ignored by the Tánaiste, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and, unfortunately, the Fianna Fáil led Government to the extent that there has been a catalogue of job losses in Tullamore particularly, and throughout the constituency of Laoighis-Offaly generally.
The monthly jobless figures were published last Friday and were lauded by the Minister of State and his colleagues as a reflection of the success of the Celtic tiger in terms of job creation and maintenance. However, there was a gaping hole in the figures which relates to the midlands where there has been little job creation and even less jobs maintenance. Jobs, particularly in the traditional employment sectors, have been lost. In addition to the job losses outlined by Deputy Quinn, thousands of jobs have been lost over the past ten years at Bord na Móna and the ESB.
This is a serious issue, ignored by Fianna Fáil, as my colleague said, because of the comfortable three seat mentality whereby the party thinks that by ignoring the people it can still retain top dog status with a Minister in the constituency. It is time to redress that imbalance and deal with this serious situation.
The Tánaiste has received a request to meet the Tullamore task force but has been, unfortunately, unable to accede to it due to a heavy schedule of commitments. She and I are aware of recent job losses in Tullamore, in particular, the decision of Lowe Alpine to cease manufacturing in Tullamore, and the reduction of employment at Snickers. With regard to complacency on the part of Fianna Fáil in that area, I assure both Deputies that the local Minister, Deputy Cowen, and myself were closely involved in the issues that arose following the closure of Lowe Alpine. There were problems regarding severance payments for workers and both myself and the Minister for Foreign Affairs were involved in trying to assist—
The problems were sorted out by SIPTU.
We worked closely with SIPTU and others and contacted the senior personnel.
That was a case of closing the stable door after the horse had bolted. The factory had closed and jobs were lost.
There is limited time for the debate. The Chair was generous to the Members. I ask them to allow the same courtesy to the Minister of State.
I accept we must move on and deal with the issue. I assure both Deputies enterprise support agencies operating under the aegis of our Department are fully committed to the promotion of employment creation in Tullamore and in County Offaly in general.
FÁS met and briefed the management and unions regarding the supports it could put in place in the immediate aftermath of the announcement of the closure at Lowe Alpine. FÁS then conducted briefing sessions with all staff in Lowe Alpine, in conjunction with the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs. FÁS also organised one-to-one guidance interviews with the workers and, as a result, set up a training course for curriculum vitae preparation and interview skills for staff who wished to avail of this. FÁS reports that a significant number of employers have contacted it and Lowe Alpine with vacancies they wish to fill, which would be suitable for staff who have been made redundant.
The Border, midlands and west region, of which County Offaly is part, is a priority location for job promotion by the industrial development agencies. While job losses at Daliber, Lowe Alpine and Snickers have been a considerable setback for Tullamore, significant developments have also been made with IDA Ireland assistance over the past 18 months. Since September 1998, three significant projects were approved for Tullamore. These are Continental AG, Flextronics and Grafica Zannini. Current employment in these projects is approximately 480.
In 2000, there were 18 site visits by IDA Ireland clients to Tullamore and there have been 11 such visits thus far in 2001. Considerable interest has been expressed in the 22,000 sq. ft. advance factory at Srah Business Park and IDA Ireland is hopeful of securing a client for the facility. IDA Ireland briefed the inter-agency group, of which it is itself a member, on the position at its last meeting on 23 March. IDA Ireland has secured agreement with the owners of the Lowe Alpine facility in Tullamore to market it for an inward investment project.
With the announcement of the down sizing of the Snickers operation and its relocation to a smaller building, IDA Ireland is also in the process of producing a marketing brochure to promote the facility for inward investment. Enterprise Ireland will also continue to actively promote the Tullamore area as a location for new projects.
Enterprise Ireland's midlands regional office is also represented on the inter-agency task force to optimise the response to the job losses in Tullamore. The county manager acts as chairman and three meetings have been held to date. The next meeting of the task force is scheduled for Thursday, 26 April 2001. Enterprise Ireland inquired as to the availability of small, well serviced office space in Tullamore at the second meeting on 22 February 2001. A number of premises have since been identified which may be suitable for small traded service type projects. In addition, Enterprise Ireland is continuing to actively promote the Tullamore area as a location for new projects.
At a more general level, the Government, through the enterprise support agencies, is committed to ensuring the most equitable distribution of job opportunities and to encouraging the establishment of industry in the regions. The development agencies are strongly focused on achieving this aim and resources are being deployed to reflect this new focus. In 2000, 589 new jobs were created by IDA Ireland assisted companies in the midlands region, resulting in a net gain for the year of 105 jobs. The total number of IDA Ireland jobs created in the midlands region amounts to 6,208. The increase in employment reflects how IDA Ireland's strategy to secure 50% of all greenfield projects for the Border, midlands and west region is beginning to show results.
IDA Ireland's policy is to focus a major part of its efforts on an embedding programme for the existing overseas owned companies in this country. Through development programmes it operates, the aim is to have capable companies moving systematically up the value chain from being basically mandated subsidiary operations to being strategically independent operations within their corporate structures worldwide. A recent initiative being promoted by IDA Ireland in Birr is the promotion of the recently completed 17,707 sq. ft. BES factory on the Shannon Development site. Shannon Development, which has responsibility for developing indigenous industry in south-west Offaly, has reported an increase in employment in its client companies in indigenous industry of 5% in south Offaly during 2000.
Enterprise Ireland currently supports 144 client companies in the midlands region, employing 5,406 people mainly in the food, consumer products and industrial sectors. The agency's new regional development strategy, which was launched on 5 February, is the basis of Enterprise Ireland's response to both the job losses experienced in the Laois-Offaly area and the under-performance of the midlands region. The work of the agencies in bringing employment to the wider Offaly region will also benefit Tullamore. I will convey Deputy Quinn's views in relation to a meeting with the Tullamore task force to the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
Will she meet the task force?
That is the point of the debate.
I will convey the Deputy's views to the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.