Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

I join Deputy Ring and others in commending Deputy Coveney on this motion, which is one of the five or more he has tabled during the present Dáil. I compliment him on the seriousness with which he takes politics and the fact that he is bringing new ideas before the House.

We need a major change in how we organise our country. The present attitudes were developed when received aid under the Marshall plan back in the early 1950s. We had to draw up a programme, which was taken on by people such as Gerard Sweetman, who brought in T. K. Whitaker, and Seán Lemass. There were a few obstacles but, generally speaking, it got us where we are now. However, we need a new form of organisation. Deputy Coveney has shown that he is prepared to think differently and bring in new ideas. It is very encouraging to see a young politician doing that.

When I came back from a visit to Silicon Valley last year I said in the House that we had definitely lost our competitiveness. We were told in no uncertain terms by an IDA official that the cost of employing somebody was lower in Silicon Valley, which is one of the most expensive areas in the world, than in Ireland. We were told that the total cost of employing a person in America was $26 an hour, while in Ireland it was $28 per hour and in Poland it was $6 per hour. When I was there again a few weeks ago, I found that the Chinese and the Indians were queueing up to compete with us and they were much more competitive.

Last week the Amann plant closed in Tralee with the loss of 210 jobs, on top of the 120 jobs lost earlier in the year. The company issued a press release which stated the reason for the closure: "The need to remain competitive in a very difficult, cost sensitive market, combined with high labour, energy and other manufacturing costs have led to this regrettable decision." There it is, in a nutshell. A factory that seemed to be doing well could not compete because of the cost of energy and of employing people.

I have a few suggestions to make. FÁS is an entity that has been much maligned in this House. This may be justified in the case of the senior management but it does not reflect the reality at local level. Without FÁS, we would have no tourism product in north Kerry. In my dealings with FÁS officials, I have found them to be very positive and co-operative. The value for money represented by their work is clear for all to see. The Minister of State may be aware of a very successful scheme known as the community youth training programme, CYPP, which is now referred to as the local training initiative. During the building boom, the Construction Industry Federation, CIF, was opposed to FÁS using apprentices for these schemes. Although it was initially supportive, it subsequently reversed that decision.

Given the large number of apprentices who wish to complete their training, there should be a renewed emphasis on this scheme as a means of allowing them to do so. On a visit to the FÁS office in Tralee yesterday, I was disappointed to see all the empty rooms which were used formerly to train carpenters. On the last occasion I visited, there was great noise and activity, but there was nobody there yesterday. There are seven phases in qualifying as an apprentice. In the case of the employment element, which is part of phases three, five and seven, people should be invited to participate in community training projects. They could build community centres, interpretive centres and other important work.

Some years ago, as Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, I established the Shannon Estuary strategy group. One of the recommendations in the position paper it produced was that a liquified natural gas import terminal should be established in the Shannon Estuary. This is being done by a company called Hess LNG Limited which has not sought grants. Another proposal was for the establishment of an oilseed facility capable of processing some 150,000 tonnes per annum of soy and rape seed. Ireland is not conforming with its obligations under the bio-fuels directive. In this context, the Government should give consideration to the current proposal to provide a bio-fuel refinery in the Shannon Estuary. There are positive actions that can be taken in the current climate. However, the Government is entirely stagnant and seems incapable of planning or delivering the required actions. I ask the Minister of State to consider the vast range of possibilities that exist.

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