Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)

Like the people on the balcony, I could continue listening to the Deputy with great pleasure.

The national plan was launched with fanfare and triumphalism some weeks ago and the only thing I wish to say about the launch is that it cost about €300,000. If it is anything like the last plan, there will be little for the BMW region. The Government took €600 million away from that area to finish the port tunnel and the Luas in Dublin. If the next plan is not more flaithiúil to the BMW region, God help us.

A golden opportunity has been missed in this Bill to do something logical for Donegal. I was here eight or nine years ago when the tax incentive scheme for tourism and development was introduced for the upper Shannon region. This covered some of the Minister of State's constituency. It covered all of Leitrim and part of Sligo and Roscommon. At that time, Leitrim was known throughout Ireland and the world as one of the backwaters of this Republic. The population of Leitrim was on a downward graph since the time of the Famine. The tax incentive scheme that was introduced for that region has turned around the economic and social history of Leitrim. There is investment in the county, with new industries, facilities and houses being provided. It is a pleasure to see it. I was glad the Minister for Finance introduced it in his constituency in the mid-Shannon region.

What better county to qualify for such a tax incentive scheme than Donegal? It is one of the economic backwaters of this Republic. We have lost 12,000 industrial jobs in the past seven years. These figures can be verified by questions that can be answered here in the Dáil. Jobs were lost in Fruit of the Loom, Hospira, Unifi, at Údarás na Gaeltachta industries and all over the county. The fishing industry is at a low ebb and we have the highest per capita unemployment in the country at four to five times the national average. That does not give the full story as many people are leaving to work in other parts of the country and abroad.

Donegal was an ideal location to receive this tax incentive. The only land border we have is with Leitrim so the incentive only needed to be extended to Donegal. People there are not looking for hand-outs or grants, they are looking for simple incentives to create flagship projects in the county. A few already exist, such as the Glenbeigh National Park, the Dunlewey outdoor centre and some others. However, we need far more of them to provide a boost to tourism in the county.

We can no longer depend on our industrial base as it has been corroded to the bone. The fishing industry and agriculture are at a low ebb. One part of our future is in tourism, but unless we receive this tax incentive in Donegal, we will continue on a downward slope. The Minister should accept an amendment on Committee Stage of this Bill to extend the tax incentive to County Donegal and redress the imbalance that exists.

See this speech in context