Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

Is é seo an chéad uair a bhfuil mé ag labhairt sa Dáil. Dá bhrí sin, gabhaim buíochas le muintir Maigh Eo as ucht an tacaíocht a thug siad dom ag an toghchán deireanach.

Twelve years ago the IDA, in association with Mayo County Council, acquired a site in Ballina to develop a technology park. The site was acquired in the face of considerable local expert advice not to proceed with the acquisition, owing to known difficulties with the title of the site and the fact that, at the time, the site had no services. In the intervening period Mayo County Council invested in the site to install the relevant services. However, the title issue has still not been resolved. Throughout that time the advice provided by the IDA to relevant Ministers and to departmental officials was that it would be sorted or was on the verge of being sorted. That advice might be in the reply to be given this evening by the Minister.

It is local knowledge that the title issues are still outstanding and are just as far from resolution. I call on the Minister and the Department to intervene. We have waited 12 years for a site. The IDA refuses to acknowledge that there are other serviced industrial sites available in Ballina for potential investors and employers. The issue has been highlighted by recent figures from the Central Statistics Office, which show that 15.8% of the labour force in Ballina is unemployed. It is the largest figure for a town of its size in the country. The average comparable figure is 8.5%.

The reluctance of the IDA and other agencies to invest in Ballina contrasts with the private investment made by local business people in recent years. New hotels, retail units and services have considerably transformed the town's ability to be an attractive destination. There has been considerable Government investment in roads, broadband and currently in connecting Ballina to the national gas network. The challenges presented to Ballina by the IDA in terms of its infrastructure are being addressed. What is lacking is a willingness on behalf of the IDA to intervene and take a position to resolve the issue. The attitude of the IDA to date has been incredibly disappointing. The advice it passes to officials and Ministers is that it will be sorted. We are extremely concerned when we consider the experience of Castlebar and Westport where technology parks were developed. Were prizes going at the Chelsea Flower Show for the quality of the trees on display the IDA would win. However, no jobs or units are located in the parks. When we get a park up and running we will maintain maximum pressure to locate industry.

The recent decision by Coca Cola to expand its workforce at a time when it was cutting its workforce everywhere else — and we sympathise in particular with Drogheda — demonstrates the quality of the workforce available to any potential investor in Ballina or Mayo. It is extremely frustrating to sit down with parents who make considerable investment in their children's education only to see it used in cities and towns in other parts of the country because of the lack of industrial and other jobs in the Ballina area.

We have an extremely qualified and willing workforce. What we lack is a proper site and the will and commitment of IDA Ireland to develop the site and Ballina as a location. I ask the Minister of State to intervene personally to resolve the issue. If we cannot have this specific site within the next 12 weeks, the time has come to move to another site. Otherwise, we will have to wait another 12 years before we have a site to put on offer. We waited 12 years and surely 12 weeks can resolve the problem.

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