John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My two cents is that local authorities are dysfunctional when it comes to the commercial world. Local enterprise offices should not be placed within local authorities at all. The role of Enterprise Ireland as a guardian of what occurs after the legislation is passed will be incredibly important. Local authorities are political organisations and are in many respects inefficient. They are driven by a wholly different mindset to that of the business and commercial world. I see trouble coming down the line if that kind of influence is exerted on organisations which have worked very well. Waterford County Enterprise Board in my constituency is a good organisation. The integration of enterprise bodies into local authorities will take some minding and watching. Local authorities are the last bodies under which the enterprise offices should be set up.

I have raised the issue of the regional spread of jobs here and on the floor of the Dáil. I picked out from Enterprise Ireland's annual report for 2011 that 42% of its sponsored companies are based in Dublin. While that is understandable, there is a difficulty with the IDA and Enterprise Ireland acknowledging that certain urban areas are getting the lion's share of investment and jobs, whether originating domestically or from abroad. No one is complaining that Dublin, Cork and Galway are centres to which enterprises are attracted, but a regional imbalance and disparity is developing. It is becoming worrying. Has Enterprise Ireland identified this as a problem and does it have a policy to draw investment into areas like the south east which are experiencing unemployment rates of 19%? There are parts of Waterford City where the unemployment rate is closer to 25%. It is becoming a major regional problem. I have asked about how the new EU post-2013 regional guidelines will take shape as they are being drafted over the next couple of months. Does Enterprise Ireland look at places like Waterford and see the deficit, which is worsening as the years go on?