Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

Apart from the recent loss of 97 jobs in Glen Dimplex, Tralee — 27 jobs in 2005 and 70 in January 2006 — and 25% of the workforce of Fleet Street Travel Ireland Limited, a number of high profile companies have either closed operations or shed jobs in Kerry in recent years such as Jet Environmental, Transmould, Sara Lee, Ridgeview, Stag Cutlery, Sports Socks Company Ireland, Rosenbluth, Wilson Sports Socks, Scott's Tools, Celtic Circuits, Jetu, Alps Electric and Sheet Metal. All those companies have closed in the past few years. As a result, the industrial base in Kerry has been seriously eroded and the Minister and the IDA are doing very little to arrest this decline.

Employment opportunities in industry in the county are extremely poor at present. There is a major absence of foreign direct investment in Kerry and job creation seems almost non-existent, with many companies contracting rather than expanding their workforces.

In January 2002, there were 6,425 people on the live register in Kerry. In January 2006, at a time of so-called unprecedented national economic success, the number of people on the live register in Kerry was 6,819, a jump of almost 400 people in four years. Almost 4,000 of these people on the live register sign on in either Tralee or Listowel, both towns that have been particularly badly hit by closures in recent years. There is no full employment in Kerry.

Employment in IDA Ireland supported companies in Kerry plummeted by 25.5% between 2001 and 2003 while the national figure fell by 6.5%. From 2002 to 2004 inclusive, 335 jobs were created in IDA Ireland supported companies in Kerry. In the same years, 1,275 jobs were lost in IDA Ireland supported companies in Kerry. Some 1,275 jobs were lost in just three years.

Figures for 2005 are unavailable as of yet, but the closure of Jet Environmental, Transmould and Sara Lee resulted in the loss of 190 jobs alone. Figures released by the Small Firms Association recently show that 548 redundancies were recorded in Kerry last year, or 2.5% of the national total. In comparison with Cork, Kerry attracts a negligible share of high value added investment in sectors such as financial and international services. There has been a failure to attract a major pharmaceutical or technology firm to Kerry in recent years. In a recent Combat Poverty Agency publication entitled Mapping Poverty, it was claimed that the risk of poverty in County Kerry was 30% to 40% higher than the national level and only counties Donegal, Mayo and Longford fared worse.

The Government must promote County Kerry as a location for industry in the same way that it promotes Dublin, Cork and other centres. Surely the loss of 30% of our industrial jobs in three years deserves a more proactive approach from the Minister and the Government. I understand that IDA Ireland has organised only 13 itineraries to County Kerry in the past five years. Last year alone there were 18 itineraries to Cork.

One of the few positive developments in Kerry over the past five years is the creation of Kerry Technology Park in Tralee by Shannon Development following an investment of €10 million from the company's income sources. The park has been highly successful in attracting and growing high quality Irish companies. The park is home to 16 technology companies employing 220 people. Technology park companies such as Stockbyte, Altobridge and Freeflow have already been recognised internationally as being among the best in their sectors. Prior to the development of Kerry Technology Park, there were no software or information technology companies in Tralee. In 2005, Shannon Development also opened a new business development centre in Listowel at a cost of €1.6 million from its resources.

It is ironic that the Minister proposes to remove Shannon Development from north Kerry despite its relative success. I appeal to the Minister and the chief executive of IDA Ireland to visit County Kerry immediately to meet the Chambers of Commerce, IBEC, SIPTU, public representatives, the county manager and other interested parties to discuss their plans for rejuvenating employment opportunities in Kerry through foreign direct investment and local indigenous industry. Kerry will have to be singled out for preferential treatment and special attention, especially the towns of Tralee and Listowel, if this trend of job losses is to be arrested.

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