Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

Last Friday the IBEC director general, Mr. Turlough O'Sullivan, issued a press release to the effect that firms in the private sector are losing jobs at the fastest rate in decades. Reduced competitiveness and increased costs are making it extremely difficult for firms to survive. As Deputy Varadkar said, we are losing one job in this country every ten minutes, 700 jobs per week. This is quite worrying and I think it will accelerate. There could be 350,000 to 400,000 people on the live register within a year if trends continue.

I was in Silicon Valley last March with a group from Tralee to encourage industrialists to come to Kerry. I met the chief executive of the San José Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce at 8 a.m. There were four delegations before us and a queue after us. People go there from around the world because there is a lot of noise around the Silicon Valley. The Silicon Valley has been very kind to Ireland, giving us Apple, Intel, Hewlett Packard, Sun Microsystems and many more. Now there is much competition and it is not happening.

I met a senior IDA official and asked him the reason. He replied that the task of the IDA is very difficult now. For example, employing someone in Ireland costs $28, but $26 in California and $6 in Poland. As Mr. O'Sullivan said, we have lost our competitiveness. The president of the leadership group is John Hartnett, who is president of Palm. Next week it will visit Trinity College, bringing venture capitalists and industrialists to tell us that they want to help us but that we must become competitive. They will send out a stark message. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment will meet them but they will give us the message that we will not attract the industry we attracted in the past if we do not become competitive.

It is startling and alarming that the live register total in Kerry in September 2007 was 5,958 and grew to 9,085 in September 2008, an increase of 3,127 or 52.5%. This is unprecedented but is the result of years of neglect by the IDA and other Government agencies. One would swear that Kerry did not exist. For example, the IDA brought 13 itineraries to Kerry over five years. Some of these were for leisure visits to play golf and give the impression the IDA was sending the odd itinerary to Kerry. Shannon Development, on the other hand, put €9 million of its money into creating a technology park in Tralee. What did the Minister's predecessor, the Minister, Deputy Martin, do? He took the brief of promoting industry away from Shannon Development, which was making an impression in terms of achievements. The business centre in Listowel is now full and there is also the technology park in Tralee. The then Minister withdrew Shannon Development's brief in that respect in case it might create any more jobs. One can single out Kerry and point to the reason for the increase in the rate of unemployment. Normally I am fair and balanced and not so political in the points I make in this House. The finger can be pointed at the Government for its inaction and for agency inaction in this respect.

The Minister of State is practical. The message here is stark. Unless we examine our competitiveness, President Obama, on taking office, may examine our advantage in terms of corporate tax in attracting American companies to invest here. We could then be in serious trouble.

I thank my colleague for bringing forward this motion, but it deserves to receive more attention than that of the one Member present on the Government side. That is unacceptable.

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