Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The delegates live in a special and beautiful part of the country, but were there negotiations or consultations with them on Ireland's Ancient East? Dundalk Institute of Technology is a strong institution, particularly in the area of renewables. It was pushing the boat out long before anybody started to talk about them. No reference is made to this issue in the presentation. How many graduate from the institute each year and how many of them are retained within the Dundalk catchment area? Would it be worth looking at putting a support programme in place to encourage the retention of some of the graduates who are engaged in cutting edge work? Would it be worth putting a package in place to support them to stay in the area and establish businesses?

How much is the black economy costing the chambers' members on both sides of the Border every year? The general trend in presentations is to say the enforcement measures are very weak and not what they should be. What is the business community doing to highlight the impact of the black economy and the danger it poses in the produce people are buying?

We need to highlight the fact that people in the community may be promoting this as a way of doing business.

I wish to raise two points in regard to the Living City initiative. Could Mr. Malone clarify if the Living City initiative is a Dundalk initiative? Mr. Ian Talbot mentioned that consultations are underway on the action plan for jobs. Is Mr. Malone aware whether Warrenpoint or Newry were consulted, whether they offered a position on the action plan for jobs or got involved in the consultations that are under way?