David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is the new construction centre. Perhaps the right name is the construction technology centre. I think it is a collaboration between NUI Galway, TCD, UCD, UCC and the Irish Green Building Council. Could the Minister provide more detail on that because it is something in which I am quite interested, as, I am sure, are many other members?

I am quite happy to see the programme established when I was in the Department of Justice, namely, the Balance for Better Business initiative, do so well. Has the Minister any targets for where he sees that going? It is particularly important given the gender equality concerns in the workplace and targets nationally. The target in 2022 was 30% and the outturn was 36%. If 36% was the 2022 outturn, does this show progress? Are we going in the right direction?

Enterprise Ireland and the LEOs are doing fantastic work, but one of the things I would like the LEOs to do is to be more progressive. They are doing so well but some people still do not know what they do and there are some gaps where they are not physically present. They are doing amazing work. I have had feedback from small businesses that have benefited hugely from LEOs. Perhaps there are areas where they could open or hold clinics. I said this to Enterprise Ireland when I met its representatives, and they were quite interested.

Regarding property, and I am being parochial here, more than once I have raised the fact that east Cork has one of the largest IDA Ireland sites in the country. I refer to the old Amgen site that has been sitting there fully serviced for the past 15 years. It has cost the taxpayer a fortune to provide water, electrical and wastewater infrastructure. The site was levelled and developed, and then Amgen decided it could not go ahead with it and it has been sitting there ever since. IDA Ireland has tried to entice various companies to set up there but without success. The reason is because road access is virtually non-existent. The N25 needs upgrading. Has the Department looked at this? I know there is a dearth of sites like this in the south. It is probably one of the best sites in the country if not in Europe with a rail link at one end, a motorway at the other, an airport a few kilometres up the road and a sea port and two universities not far away yet it is sitting there idle. Can the Minister explain why this is the case? What did it cost to develop in the first place? It is owned by IDA Ireland. There are plans to have a back entrance but that will not work because it will bring traffic through Carrigtwohill. Are there other sites like this around the country that need initiatives that we need to look at? It is a disgrace that this site has been sitting there for so long. I know the county council planned to upgrade the road but this was halted at the end of 2021 even though about €1.5 million had been spent on it. The region is crying out for sites like this and yet that site is sitting there idle with weeds growing. Could the Minister comment on that? I could go on - there is so much in this - but I will let colleagues in.