Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick East, Fine Gael)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this matter again. Regrettably, the response I received on the last occasion I raised it was grossly inadequate and I hope the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Kelleher, will see fit to providing a proper response today.

The mid-west is being bypassed. The previous response I received from the Minister of State referred to the national spatial strategy for the region and a commitment to balanced regional development but this is not evident on the ground. The Shannon-Heathrow slot is about to be removed and, while we welcome CityJet's plan to provide services to Charles de Gaulle Airport, nothing could be further from the truth than the Government spin that it represents a better solution than Heathrow. We are losing 40 cities worldwide with the discontinuation of the Heathrow service, so it is no substitute. In terms of the national spatial strategy, Limerick, Shannon and Ennis have been designated a gateway hub, yet there is no rail link between Limerick and Shannon.

IDA Ireland reports indicate that between 2002 and 2006, jobs in Limerick increased by only 139, whereas IDA Ireland jobs increased in Dublin by more than 3,000, in Cork by 1,800 and in Galway by more than 1,500. These figures speak for themselves. Other counties with smaller populations than Limerick's also experienced increases. Kildare received an additional 742 IDA Ireland jobs, Waterford received 529 and Leitrim received 407. I am not begrudging these areas their jobs but Limerick and the mid-west have been let behind. In the past several months, we have lost 100 jobs in Full Flex and more in Atlas Aluminium. We have had no major IDA Ireland job announcements for the past five years.

The Minister of State's response made no reference to the future. He massaged figures in respect of the years up to 2006 without mentioning 2007 and beyond. He cited figures in respect of 2004 onwards but there was nothing in the mid-west between 2002 and 2004. One company came to the region in each of the years 2005 and 2006. The indications are that some companies will come in 2007. Every company is welcome but the region does not have large-scale employers or IDA Ireland backed jobs.

I look forward to the Minister of State's response, which I hope will bring good news for the mid-west. All we have heard for the past several months has been bad news. The Government does not fully understand the consequences of the loss of the Heathrow route for the region in terms of connectivity and employment. More than 400 people are employed by Aer Lingus in Shannon, many of whom live in my constituency of Limerick East. The multinational companies brought IDA Ireland backed jobs to the region because they were promised the connectivity now being lost. I hope the Minister of State will indicate that IDA Ireland will bring jobs to the mid-west as a priority, that the region will experience balanced development and that the national spatial strategy will manifest itself in investment in the region rather than rhetoric.

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