Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I was disappointed to hear of the recent decision by the company in question to cease production at its Ennis-based manufacturing facility. The company employs 44 permanent and 87 temporary staff in its manufacturing operation and I understand the positions will be phased out over a 12 to 18 month period. The European sales and marketing team of 15 staff, which is also based in Ennis, is not affected by the decision. The job losses are the result of the company's decision to consolidate production at its facilities in the United States of America where it already has surplus capacity.

This day last week, a meeting of the Industry Ennis group, which was formed in 2000, took place to discuss employment in Ennis. The group's primary function is to support and, where possible, augment the services of the development agencies which operate in the area, including IDA Ireland, Shannon Development and the Clare County Enterprise Board. The outcome of the meeting was a decision by the group to develop a strategy to address employment in Ennis. The strategy will build on the group's work with State agencies to continue to promote Ennis through initiatives such as the Clare consul programme, which targets successful business people with Clare connections, and foreign direct investment itineraries.

Industry Ennis has helped 20 companies to create 358 jobs, of which 280 are established, with the remainder to be filled in the coming months. The live register shows a decrease in Ennis of 130 people in the year-on-year position at March 2005. The reduction reflects the success to date of various initiatives for the area. Last year, Ennis benefited from investment decisions by Organic Lens, which decided to add to its existing operation, and Monster Cable, which announced a new project for the town. Organic Lens will implement a €6.5 million programme of investment to develop its manufacturing operation which will create 100 jobs while Monster Cable will establish a shared-services centre which will create 50 jobs.

Shannon Development has recently completed the construction of phase 1 of the information age park in Ennis, which is its fifth knowledge-network location in the mid-west. The park constitutes an overall investment of €12.5 million in land, infrastructure and buildings and will provide 46,000 square feet of world-class incubation, expansion and own-door office accommodation in an urban park environment on the outskirts of the town. The investment marks the first phase of a significant development for Ennis and, as part of it, Shannon Development will relocate its regional office for Clare to the park. It is anticipated that over €100 million will be invested in the park by the public and private sectors over the next 15 years.

I am satisfied that the combined efforts of the development agencies together with the work of Industry Ennis will be sufficient to address the needs of the town. I look forward to examining the forthcoming strategy for the area.

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