John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Ryan has cited those figures and I accept them. I am talking about the unemployment figures, which speak for themselves. It is indisputable that some parts of this country are experiencing massive levels of unemployment. I am trying to get across the idea that, from a policy standpoint and based on those figures, the organisation needs to identify and accept that. I accept everything Mr. Ryan has thrown at me about where the organisation creates these jobs and the percentages, but an imbalance has arisen to the effect that there is more unemployment in some parts than others. This needs to be addressed from a policy standpoint within Enterprise Ireland, the IDA and the Departments that have a role. I have raised the issue of regional guidelines and incentives with the IDA. While they may be given to these companies, they are not working. The IDA accepts that they are not working. They are not attracting companies to the regions that are experiencing massive levels of unemployment. Enterprise Ireland needs to consider this, and policies within the organisation need to be geared towards spotting, identifying and accepting that there is a problem that needs to be examined.

Picking up on what Mr. Ryan said about the small skills unit and Enterprise Ireland's position on university-led indigenous job creation, Mr. Brendan Murphy, the president of Cork Institute of Technology, said last summer that creating a vibrant technological university sector is the most important significant recommendation in the national strategy for higher education to 2030. He highlighted how higher education can make a major contribution to the development of indigenous enterprise by pointing to CIT's association with Enterprise Ireland in operating the Genesis programme which has resulted in 200 start-up companies, over €100 million in investment and the creation of almost 2,500 jobs. Mr. O'Donnellan alluded to the importance of this, as did Mr. Ryan. The HEA and the Department of Education and Skills are adjudicating on applications for the creation of more technological universities. If that is where Mr. Ryan thinks the emphasis should be, what role does Enterprise Ireland, with the Department and the HEA, play to deliver on that? The creation of these technological universities is important when it results in such figures.