Vol. 566 No. 2
3 Mr. Healy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if an employment task force will be established for Tipperary town and surrounding area in view of the very high levels of unemployment there and the recent announcement by a company (details supplied) of the closure of its medical division with the loss of 150 jobs. [12537/03]
While I very much regret the recent job losses announced by Pall, Tipperary, I assure the Deputy that the State development agencies under the aegis of my Department are fully committed to the promotion of employment creation in south Tipperary, including Tipperary town. The agencies work closely with each other and with the development bodies in the area, as well as other local bodies and interests in facilitating an integrated approach to enterprise development in south Tipperary. In that respect, a sub-committee of the Tipperary County Development Board has been set up, in which IDA Ireland, FÁS and Enterprise Ireland will participate, to examine what initiatives can be developed for Tipperary town and ways of attracting potential foreign direct investment. This is the most appropriate forum in which to address the development needs of the area.
In regard to the job losses announced by the company, FÁS has already been in contact with company representatives to discuss a detailed programme to assist those who are being made redundant to find suitable alternative employment. FÁS has offered to make available its full range of support services, including skills analysis, jobs placement, guidance and counselling interviews, identification of training needs and suitable training courses. It will also ensure ongoing support and action to keep redundant workers in touch with the labour market.
In addition, Enterprise Ireland's south-east region office, in association with the management of the Tipperary Enterprise and Technology Centre and Tipperary South Riding County Enterprise Board, has already held a clinic for the staff of Pall who wish to consider self-employment. IDA Ireland will continue to promote Tipperary to potential investors and the agency will also develop its business park in Tipperary town as an additional attraction. Planning permission has recently been secured to carry out an upgrade of the park by improving the entrance road and landscaping the site. An advance technology building of 16,000 square feet will be built on the park this year. Additionally, the former Namco building of 60,000 square feet is available and is being actively marketed by the agency.
Will the Tánaiste accept that special measures are needed to promote employment and investment in Tipperary town? Some years ago, the Tánaiste established a very successful task force in Clonmel at the demise of Seagate. Will she agree that a task force with the authority of her office would be more appropriate than the local initiatives outlined, particularly given that unemployment levels in Tipperary town have reached 12%, three times the national unemployment average? Will she accept that the people of Tipperary town have made huge financial contributions to promoting social and economic conditions in the town through initiatives like the Excel company, the IT resource centre and the Canon Hayes sports centre? In view of those financial contributions and the work people of the town did, the Government would need to complement those measures, particularly by way of a task force with the authority of her office.
It is not feasible, nor would it be practical, to establish a task force in every town that has suffered job losses. Job losses are constantly happening, even in the best days. Thankfully we have also had job gains, and the Deputy mentioned some of them. Even in County Tipperary, notwithstanding the job losses, there are a considerable number of people on work permits, in both north and south Tipperary. Therefore jobs are being created and employers have had to look outside the local market to fill many of these jobs.
The immediate challenge is to find alternative investment in the town. I accept that Tipperary town has not done as well as Clonmel, where Guidant employs more than 1,000 people and is expanding rapidly. The sub-group established by the development board, which includes IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and FÁS, is the appropriate body to look at the issues in the area which can help to promote the attraction of Tipperary town for investment.
Of course we must not put all our eggs in the foreign direct investment basket. The vast majority of people who work in the private sector in Ireland work for Irish companies and clearly we must look at possibilities for Irish investment in Tipperary town as well as foreign direct investment.
Will the Minister agree that Tipperary town is a special case because unfortunately the town has been bereft of employment over recent years? We have had nothing but closures in the town and, as I have said, even prior to these closures our unemployment rate was approximately 12%. In those special circumstances of Tipperary town, will the Minister reconsider establishing a task force with the authority of her office and in that regard will she agree to meet a deputation from the local town council?
I am not in a position to establish a task force. We do not have the resources to set up task forces in every area and, notwithstanding what the Deputy said, I cannot make a special case for Tipperary town. I will give consideration to his request that I meet a deputation but, as the Deputy will be aware, I have met a number of deputations from Tipperary. I am happy to meet a deputation – now that I recall, I think I have already agreed to meet a deputation from Tipperary town as soon as possible.
