Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

Support for job creation and investment is a matter for the industrial development agencies. Under the industrial development Acts I may give general policy directives to IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland but I am precluded from giving directives regarding individual undertakings or from giving preference to one area over others.

As the Deputy is aware, I met a delegation from Carrick-on-Suir town council, led by the mayor, Councillor Sylvia Cooney Sheehan, on Tuesday, 19 July last. Following that meeting I met FÁS and requested it to re-examine its level of engagement with the long-term unemployed in the town. The director general has reported to me that resulting from this review, FÁS has decided to make an additional budget allocation to fund its activities in the Carrick-on-Suir area.

As I stated in a letter to the manager of the town council on 20 September 2005, FÁS, as a key strategic response to the particular circumstances in Carrick-on-Suir, will implement a high support programme, initially prioritising support for 100 clients and subsequently to additional clients who may wish to engage in the process. The programme will provide a one-to-one support process for individuals to identify training and development needs. Funding has been put in place to respond to the needs identified either through training provided by FÁS or any other agency which can respond with appropriate interventions.

By its nature the process will take some time. It will commence in October 2005 and continue through 2006. Initial arrangements have already commenced between FÁS and the Department of Social and Family Affairs to enable the engagement to commence as quickly as possible. In addition, a computer training course is commencing on 24 October 2005 for clients identified by the local employment service.

That meeting was also attended by officials from IDA and Enterprise Ireland and I have been assured by both agencies that they will do what they can to assist in bringing investment to the town. Since that meeting there have been no site visits to the town in terms of foreign direct investment but the overall IDA strategy for south Tipperary is to concentrate future economic development in Clonmel and to develop the town as a first-class location for overseas investment. This strategy has been agreed with the south Tipperary county development board.

Enterprise Ireland continues to foster job creation in Tipperary South and in the south east region. Enterprise Ireland job creation activity is focused on the creation of new jobs through supporting entrepreneurs setting up new high potential start-up companies, the retention and creation of new jobs in existing companies and in enhancing the innovation capability of Ireland at a national and regional level through support of research in companies and third level institutions.

Carrick-on-Suir has benefited from a significant amount of direct financial assistance from Tipperary South Riding enterprise board. Since its inception to date, the board has approved €573,895 in financial assistance to business in the Carrick-on-Suir area resulting in the creation of 67 jobs. Tipperary South Riding enterprise board has promoted its autumn training programme for businesses widely in south Tipperary including in Carrick-on-Suir. Its first autumn training programme in Carrick-on-Suir commenced on 6 September with 20 participants as well as additional participants from Carrick-on-Suir attending training programmes taking place in Clonmel.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

As part of its wider commitment to the economic development of south Tipperary, the Tipperary South Riding CEB is represented on the newly formed economic development committee as well as the tourism development committee. The CEB representative co-ordinated the development and launch of a new website promoting Carrick-on-Suir in August 2005 as part of its contribution to the work of this committee.

Any further initiatives regarding job creation should be under the auspices of the county development board, with which the industrial development agencies are already involved. This would be in line with the position adopted in other areas. In recent years, we have steered away from establishing task forces and, in keeping with this policy it is not proposed to establish the specific task force to which the Deputy referred. I am confident the policies and strategies pursued by the development agencies, together with the ongoing commitment and support from Government, will bear fruit in terms of sustainable additional investment for all the towns in south Tipperary.

See this speech in context