David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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I thank Mr. Hayes for the presentation. One of the areas on which I wanted to focus was regional development and regional disparities in respect of the work of Enterprise Ireland and this new unit, because we all want better outcomes. The three issues I will raise are funding, networks and clusters and the concept of incubation centres.

Mr. Hayes stated in his presentation that Enterprise Ireland will allocate individual budgets to the LEOs based on agreed funding guidelines. He went on to talk about metrics which are all quite good in terms of the number of start-ups supported and the number of jobs created, but he did not deal with targeting resources where they are needed most in areas of high unemployment. We know the Border counties and south east have very high levels of unemployment. Mr. Hayes stated that jobs were created in EirGen, Eishtec and Dawn Meats in Waterford. However, we know that unemployment in the south east is 5% above the national average and there are problems in the Border counties. There is a need for a regional focus.

The issue of networks and clusters is linked to that. Again, Mr. Hayes stated that the unit will facilitate the development of sector and regional networks and clusters involving the clients of the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and the city and county enterprise boards. That suggests it will facilitate the development of existing clusters. I want Enterprise Ireland to look at directing the emergence of new clustering, where this is possible, in areas of high unemployment and not just focus on what exists at present. One problem that could arise is that we could follow a pattern that has been set in respect of a lot of work that has been done but not look at whether we need to think outside the box and do things differently in respect of under-performing regions and areas.

Mr. Hayes spoke about having incubation centres in each of the institutes of technology and universities and providing a supportive environment for approximately 300 companies and units in these centres employing in excess of 1,300 people. There are areas that do not have third level institutions. There are areas in the south east that do not have a university, so we need to ensure these incubation centres are linked to their nearest third and fourth level institution. It is important for us to foster a culture of innovation, and the institutes of technology and universities can play a big part in that. In the south east, the Telecommunications Software & Systems Group and the eco-labs work with existing companies. We must ensure links exist and that we benefit from the innovation trade-offs that result from the links with the institutes of technology. That means, however, that policy must fit and a joined-up approach must exist to ensure areas have the educational facilities to bring that about. In the south east, there is the need for a university.

My last point relates to job retention. Deputy Tóibín mentioned the net increase of six jobs in Enterprise Ireland companies, and Mr. Hayes also mentioned that it is about retaining jobs. Much work goes into keeping jobs, which is important. Is there an idea about how we could do that better? Sinn Féin put forward a proposal based on having a rapid response unit that could work with companies which have gone bust to see whether there are opportunities.

We could give many examples. Workers' co-operatives could be set up, for example. Much more could be done in this regard. Time is often wasted and opportunities are lost simply because there is no agency focusing on responding very rapidly to circumstances. Could this be considered? I refer to small businesses, even those with fewer than ten employees. There is potential in this area for workers to take over some companies. The point was made that contracts are won and re-won, but the point could also be made that companies are invented and reinvented. They can be reinvented by employees if relevant supports are made available initially. I ask the delegation for its views on this.