John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I want to argue this out because there are many counties that have suitable buildings available. They have not been encouraged to provide even more buildings because they were not sure that they would secure tenants for them. I am particularly taken by the fact that Mr. Shanahan has said that the IDA would meet county councils and so forth. One such council wrote to the IDA on 10 October seeking a meeting but it still has not secured one.

I respect the job that the IDA does, by the way.

I am not in any way being critical of the overall approach, with the exception that the regions have suffered and that county councils have made every effort, with the support of their Oireachtas Members, to highlight the problems in some of these counties. By and large, they have not been successful. My political career started in 1979. I can remember when a then Fine Gael Deputy - a well-respected Deputy - was making the case that a great number of jobs were attracted to centres such as Dublin, Limerick, Cork and Waterford, and I can understand that. However, the regions have been making representations for a long time, leading delegations to meet Ministers of various political persuasions and, by and large, they have not been successful. I refer to what Deputy McFadden said this morning. The councils ask what they have to do to market their county and to make the IDA understand that they are attractive places in which to live. The information in the table shows a significant imbalance as to where these jobs go and how they are attracted here.