Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick East, Fine Gael)

I am delighted to be able to speak to this Bill. I welcome many of its elements, including the increased grants and their direction towards research and development, which is extremely important. Enterprise Ireland will take over the indigenous business remit from Shannon Development in the mid west. Shannon Development's role has been beneficial to the mid west over many years and it was a blueprint organisation in terms of balanced regional development. It dealt with foreign direct investment through the Shannon free zone, indigenous industry, tourism and a range of other areas, which worked very well.

Enterprise Ireland has now taken over the indigenous industry remit in the mid-west region. At this juncture, it is critical that we examine the future role of Shannon Development. It has a very important role to play in the regional development of the mid west and it can take on the role of integrating all the services in the region through its CEO, Dr. Vincent Cunnane. Dr. Cunnane has been also appointed as the CEO of the employment task force, following in the wake of large-scale job losses arising from the decisions of Dell and other multinational companies in the mid west and Limerick.

It is critical that Shannon Development is retained and given an enhanced role. Its role in the Shannon free zone is vital with regard to foreign direct investment and tourism and it must become more active in the promotion of Limerick city. The gateway innovation fund was discontinued. That fund was vital for the mid west, which sought approximately €100 million for the development of Limerick city and other areas in the wider region. I ask the Government to consider this fund, which is vital to the region.

With regard to overall development, the Government has established the employment task force under the able and excellent stewardship of Mr. Denis Brosnan as chairman and Dr. Vincent Cunnane as chief executive officer. I called for a task force as far back as last November for a reason, namely, to be proactive and to deal with the situation that has evolved. In the past week, Denis Brosnan sent out a stark warning to those in Limerick and the mid west when he said that by the end of this year there will be more than 50,000 people out of a job and on the live register in the region. Furthermore, unemployment in the region is increasing at a faster rate than in any other area in Ireland at present and we will be looking at approximately 15% or 16% unemployment by the end of this year.

More than 2,000 people in Dell will lose their jobs in the next 12 months, 450 of them by the end of April. It is ironic that when the 1,900 manufacturing job losses were announced by Dell, the local Minister, Deputy Willie O'Dea, stated that negotiations where under way between Dell and the IDA, on behalf of the Government, that would bring 750 high-end jobs to Dell in Limerick. However, in the past week, we find it has been announced that, at a minimum, 100 jobs in the high-end area are to go.

The one issue of which I have been repeatedly critical is that no representative from the IDA is on the task force. The task force was established in the main because of foreign direct investment jobs being lost to Limerick and the mid-west region. I cannot understand why the IDA is not on the task force but the way the IDA has operated in the mid west and Limerick shows a lack of commitment to the region. If one compares Limerick to the other cities in Munster — Cork and Waterford — Limerick received 374 IDA-backed jobs in 2008 in comparison to nearly three times that number in Cork, which received almost 1,000 jobs, and Waterford, which received nearly 600 jobs. IDA-backed jobs only increased by 39 in a four-year period up to 2006 in Limerick and, furthermore, there were no new start-ups in Limerick between 2002 and 2004 and only one new start-up in 2005 and 2006. In 2007, 150 IDA-backed jobs came to Limerick and, as already mentioned, 374 in 2008.

This is a grossly inadequate response from the IDA and the Government when one considers that the live register figures for Limerick at end of February were 17,223 and, of those, nearly three quarters relate to Limerick city and its hinterland, almost 12,000 people. The Government and the Minister need to give a commitment, first, that the IDA will join the employment task force headed up by Denis Brosnan and Vincent Cunnane and, second, that the IDA will designate Limerick and the mid west as a priority area. The figures do not suggest this is the case, given that Cork got nearly 1,000 new jobs through the IDA in 2008, Waterford got almost 600 and Limerick just over 370.

While it was known the Dell jobs in Limerick were at risk, it took the Government at least two months to set up the task force I called for back in November. People were being told by the Minister, Deputy O'Dea, on the day they were losing their jobs that the Government through the IDA had secured 750 high-end jobs with Dell. The people of Limerick and the mid west deserve better. The Tánaiste, Deputy Coughlan, and the Minister of State, Deputy McGuinness, must ensure that the IDA joins this task force and that we see a flow of jobs because we have seen no jobs in 2009. We need to see real commitment from the Government.

My understanding is that the employment task force headed up by Denis Brosnan is due to make an interim report to the Tánaiste in the first two weeks of May, little over a month away. It is critical that this interim report be elevated to a report that is actionable and that, whatever recommendations are made, the resources are put in place. Denis Brosnan, who is universally regarded as one of the greatest businessmen of his generation, is telling the Government there will 50,000 unemployed in the mid west by the end of the year and an unemployment rate of 15% to 16%. We need action and resources, and the report needs to be published. I understand it will be presented to the Tánaiste but it should be published because there is nothing to hide and we need transparency. We have a problem in that job losses in the mid west and Limerick are escalating at a rate that no other region is experiencing in terms of acceleration and scale. It is critical, first, that the Government would insist or order the IDA to become part of this task force and, second, that it would ensure the IDA makes Limerick and the mid west a priority area.

With regard to grants, we are members of the EU and, while I believe in the open market, I am also aware of the situation where the Polish Government was able to give Dell approximately €50 million to locate in Lodz in Poland, which certainly had an effect in terms of the Irish operation. I expect this will be examined at European Commission level to ensure this country is able to retain its comparative advantage in terms of bringing IDA-backed jobs and foreign direct investment jobs into the region. Shannon Development has a key role to play in terms of jobs in the Shannon free zone. Many people living in Limerick work in Shannon, as they have traditionally done. This is why the mid west must be made a priority region for industrial development by the Government.

To conclude, it is important we increase the grants that are available to industry, particularly in the area of research and development. The Bill will be scrutinised in greater detail on Committee Stage. I welcome the increase in research and development grants and the increase in the limited grants being given to industry. However, I want to take two warning shots. First, Shannon Development must be retained and given an enhanced role in terms of development for the region, particularly with regard to the Shannon free zone, tourism and the development of industrial parks. Any dilution of its role will be resisted by Limerick and the mid west. Second, Enterprise Ireland is doing great work in the region but it needs to be given extra resources to prioritise where people are losing their jobs in companies like Dell. There is a wealth of expertise in these companies that could be utilised to set up small businesses. This needs to be co-ordinated between all the agencies, including Shannon Development, the IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and the city and county development boards in terms of providing funding to enable people to set up in business. Feeding into this would be Tuas Nua, the retraining agency.

In terms of the task force, I am aware of the fantastic work Mr. Denis Brosnan and Mr. Vincent Cunnane, along with members of the task force, are doing. The task force, while great, does not include a representative of IDA Ireland and this needs to be rectified. I ask the Minister to state that this will be rectified immediately. I would also like IDA Ireland to commence looking after Limerick and the mid-west. Limerick has gained only one third of the number of jobs gained in Cork and half the number of jobs gained by Waterford. There were no new IDA Ireland start-ups in Limerick between 2003 and 2004 and only one between 2005 and 2006. Also, Limerick gained only 151 new jobs in 2007 and 274 in 2008 with no new jobs for Limerick in 2009 so far. The Government must acknowledge that IDA Ireland has neglected Limerick and the mid-west. This needs to be remedied.

The task force has a vital role to play. I would like the task force's interim report, when published, not only to be presented to the Minister, but also brought before the House for discussion. Furthermore, resources must be put in place to enable it to be an actionable report. Eighteen months is too long to wait for a final report given the circumstances now presenting and the resultant loss of high end jobs. Negotiations must be ongoing between IDA Ireland and companies like Dell to retain existing high end jobs and to secure further such jobs. I would like a response on this matter from the Minister, Deputy Mary Coughlan.

We were led to believe by the Minister for Defence, Deputy Willie O'Dea, following the announcement of the loss of 1,900 manufacturing jobs in Dell, that negotiations were already under way with Dell and IDA Ireland on behalf of the Government for 750 high end jobs. We were told this on the same day as 1,900 workers in Dell were told they would their jobs during the forthcoming year. The Government needs to show commitment to Limerick and the mid-west. The way to do this is to provide resources, based on the report from Mr. Denis Brosnan, Mr. Vincent Cunnane and the task force which will be produced in the first or second week of May. IDA Ireland must give priority to the Limerick region and Shannon Development must be given an enhanced role in terms of regional development for the mid-west and Limerick regions.

I look forward to hearing from the Minister that real commitment will be shown by way of resources in terms of the development of Limerick and the mid-west.

See this speech in context