Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)

Will the Minister take steps to accelerate the carrying out of an audit of these buildings? A significant number of them exist throughout Ireland. Where a disaster happens from a jobs perspective in an area surely a major selling point, apart from the expertise of the skilled workforce which can be retrained under the new upskilling programme, is the availability of a building. This is of paramount importance in seeking to secure alternative employment and industry for an area.

Will the Minister also ensure that where the IDA has control of an area it works with the local authority to enable it to work with individuals and entrepreneurs by providing land for small incubator units? These could provide five to ten jobs. I come from a rural area and the future of rural areas will be dependent on the provision of large numbers of significant small industries. While we should continue to pursue the objective of attracting 200, 300 or 400 jobs to a rural area it may not be as feasible as it was. We must recognise this. In terms of rural locations small is also beautiful.

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