Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 17 May 2001

Vol. 536 No. 4

Adjournment Debate. - Job Creation.

Mr. Healy

In view of the recent Central Statistics Office data on incomes, I call on the Government and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to give priority to investment, job creation, replacement industry, the building of advance factories, infrastructure and the decentralisation of Departments to south Tipperary. The Central Statistics Office data show that the south-east region, of which south Tipperary is part, has the lowest incomes in the country – a full 12% below the national average or 88% of the national average. Those figures are worse than the figures in the Border, midland and western region, but despite this the area does not qualify for any special EU assistance which is available to the BMW region.

South Tipperary has again fallen further behind in the country's prosperity league. It was seventh from the bottom of the league in the last set of statistics from the Central Statistics Office but it is now fifth from the bottom. The gap in terms of income per head compared, for example, to our colleagues in north Tipperary continues to widen. People in north Tipperary have a much higher disposable income than those in south Tipperary. The Border, midland and western region has incomes 10% higher than the south-east region and south Tipperary. In Dublin, incomes are a full 40% higher than in south Tipperary.

These figures are particularly worrying in view of earlier data from the small area research unit in Trinity College, Dublin, which showed that 49% or almost 37,000 people in south Tipperary live in areas of material deprivation. The towns of Carrick-on-Suir in east Tipperary and Tipperary town in west Tipperary are two examples. In both those towns, there are two district electoral divisions. In both towns, there is maximum deprivation in one of the DEDs and second to maximum deprivation in the other DED. It means there is 12% unemployment in both those towns – three to four times the national average. The Taoiseach came to south Tipperary last June and told us employment had been dealt with. Thankfully, he was in Tipperary town a fortnight ago and he has now accepted that 12% unemployment is correct for Tipperary town, and that is also the situation in Carrick-on-Suir. In those two towns, there has been devastation by way of closures with little or no replacement industries for those areas.

There is considerable migration from both those towns. Some 94% of young people leave the towns for third level education and employment and only about 6% stay or come back to those towns. In the case of Tipperary town, 1,500 leave the town every day to go to work elsewhere. The population of west Tipperary and Tipperary town has fallen by about 8% over the last two censuses, although there has been a 2.8% increase in population nationally.

I am also very worried by the recent publication of national spatial strategies by Fine Gael and the Labour Party which earmarked Kilkenny as the secondary employment growth centre in the south-east. If this were implemented, it would further disadvantage towns in south Tipperary.

I call on the Minister to prioritise south Tipperary in relation to the building of advance factories and decentralisation. Tipperary is the only county in Munster without decentralisation. We are entitled to 700 jobs under the decentralisation programme. The Minister should announce such a programme for south Tipperary immediately.

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Mr. Treacy)

The provision of jobs is a matter for the industrial development agencies, and not one in which the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment would have a direct function.

The Government, through the enterprise development agencies, is committed to ensuring the most equitable distribution of job opportunities and to encouraging the establishment of industry in the regions. A key factor in the achievement of this objective, and a primary objective of this Government, is the creation of a business environment in which job opportunities continue to flourish and, equally, in which job applicants have the requisite skills requirements. In line with commitments contained in the national development plan, the enterprise development agencies are strongly focused on achieving this aim and resources are being deployed to reflect this new focus. The new 12.5% corporation tax rate, which many Deputies criticised, and initiatives on matters such as education, physical infrastructure and technology under the national development plan, allow Ireland to remain competitive both in developing indigenous industry and securing inward investment projects. We have a track record in that field which is second to none; we are ahead of all of our competitors in Europe.

The achievement of balanced regional development is a key policy and operational objective of the Department and of the industrial development agencies. It is enshrined in industrial development legislation, and is a key objective in the policy statements of the Department and of the development agencies. Progress on the achievement of targets set in respect of regional development is monitored and reported on a continuing basis.

Balanced regional development requires a better spread of investment, employment and population growth between regions and within regions, and not just in the urban centres. The Department and the development agencies seek to ensure that the required investments in economic and social infrastructure to achieve more balanced regional development are identified and put in place. The co-ordination of policy is continuously pursued and achieved through a number of mechanisms between the Department, Forfás and the industrial development agencies, IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Shannon Development. The implementation of this co-ordinated policy approach is monitored annually through the approval of the negotiating guidelines of the agencies, which have a strong regional focus, by the Department and the board of Forfás.

In an effort to ensure that the objective of balanced regional development will be achieved, IDA Ireland recently re-organised its internal structures. This restructuring included the allocation of additional staff to its regional offices, the opening of new regional offices and allocating regional responsibilities to key executives in its HQ project divisions. IDA Ireland's strategy for the south-east region is focused on achieving a better regional distribution of new overseas projects away from their preferred locations.

In Tipperary South, IDA Ireland is pursuing the targets arising from the Seagate task force, which the Minister established following the announcement of the closure of Seagate. The top priority was to find a replacement industry for Seagate, which has been achieved with the location of the Guidant Corporation in Clonmel. This corporation plans to create over 1,100 jobs and is actively recruiting in the south-east region.

The second priority was to proceed with an advance factory in Cashel. This was completed and on 1 February last, IDA announced that Alza Corporation has decided to locate a $50 million pharmaceutical project in the factory. This project is expected to create approximately 100 new jobs over time.

The third priority set for IDA Ireland by the task force was to provide an advance factory in Tipperary town as a "follow on" to the letting of the Cashel facility. Securing the Alza project for the Cashel facility will allow IDA Ireland to progress its commitment to provide an advance factory in Tipperary town. I understand that IDA Ireland has advised Carrick-on-Suir UDC that it is prepared to give serious consideration to providing an advance factory in the town once a client is secured for the proposed facility in Tipperary town. In addition, IDA Ireland is also working closely with the existing overseas companies in the county to encourage further expansion. These include Guidant Corporation, Pall Corporation, Continental Promotions, Merck Sharpe and Dohme and SRAM. The agency is also involved in actively promoting the 24,000 sq. ft. former Bomont Plastics facility in Carrick-on-Suir.

With regard to the indigenous sector, provisional data from the Forfás employment survey shows that in indigenous companies overall employment has increased by a net 6,300 to 146,000 in 2000. Enterprise Ireland, which works with indigenous industry, is mindful of the need to encourage its client companies to focus on maintaining competitiveness in an increasingly global economy, and against the background of perceived threats to the more traditional sectors of industry from low cost economies. The emphasis of Enterprise Ireland's financial interventions has changed from capacity building to capability building supports.

I want to say to Deputy Healy as a new Deputy that no Government has done more for his county, for his constituency or for the country. The record of investment, the opportunities created, the plans we have put together, the incentives that are in position ensure that the future is assured and that the people of south Tipperary will benefit both from the natural environment and the investment the Government is making.