Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

It continues to grow as a genuine location for investment. Considerable restructuring is ongoing in the economy in the profiles of jobs and the sectors in which employment is growing and declining. The services sector is an obvious one in which there has been continued growth in employment. While there have been job losses in certain traditional areas, there have been job increases across the board in other sectors. Many additional jobs have been created which do not warrant a major announcement such as five in one business and ten in another. Jobs are also created through the more substantial projects announced, for example, by Monster Cable and Organic Lens.

A town like Ennis cannot be considered in isolation. The live register shows a decrease which indicates that there is less unemployment in the town than there was this time last year. The town must be viewed in a regional context and in terms of the spatial plan through which IDA Ireland is marketing the region for investment and Ennis as a hub town, and will continue to do so. Through the work of Shannon Development, there will be a continuing focus on growing indigenous businesses in the Shannon area, including Ennis. When I was in China recently, I worked with Shannon Development, which organised a seminar to make a presentation to a number of interested parties of information on the company and the way in which it organises and supports indigenous enterprise in the mid-west.

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