Ulick Burke (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the Bill, which is part of an exercise to consolidate 14 other Acts into one. Its purpose is to allow US subsidiary firms based in Ireland to temporarily use the US accounting standards when producing their accounts. We need to view all this in the context of investment in the country and job creation. Many Members of the House will recall occasions in the past - the distant past, thankfully - long before globalisation became an in-word and the movement of investment out of this country and the loss of jobs, when one would have to question the accounting and auditing practices of foreign companies operating in this country. Thankfully, that has gone and the Bill will go some way towards eliminating difficulties that may have arisen and costs to the Exchequer as a result of court cases undertaken in order to justify particular procedures.

We have had various strategies to spread job opportunities and investment equally throughout the country. However, we now know that IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland have consolidated and focused essentially on four or five major centres, namely, Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and perhaps one in the midlands. In the Government's spatial strategy, there was much ado about hub towns and gateway towns. There was a legitimate anticipation that people would see an equal spread of investment throughout the regions. However, tragically that has not happened as the Minister of State is well aware. For example, my constituency has a gateway town in Ballinasloe and a hub town in Tuam. We also have towns like Loughrea, Portumna and Gort. A reply to a parliamentary question I asked in the not too distant past made it clear that IDA Ireland did not bring any major investors to those towns. I do not know whether it was through its lack of initiative in focusing on those centres or whether it was a total lack of interest from foreign investment companies to come to any towns. There is an onus on Government to implement the spatial strategy to give an equal spread of opportunity to the other centres I have just named.

The Government has failed to recognise the importance of research and development and has made cutbacks in all third level institutions. Were it not for the initiative of the staff and the current and former presidents at NUI Galway to encourage investment for research and development into Galway, the employment picture in Galway might be different. The high-tech employment we have was in the main nurtured by the efforts and endeavours by those in the university to support it.

While this legislation is important to regularise the accountancy of new firms, etc., it is important that the Government recognises that investment should and must be spread equally. During Question Time, I heard Deputy O'Donnell refer to what could have happened in Limerick if certain actions were taken. I can bring Members nearer to home. CIGNA decided to move its operations away from Loughrea because of globalisation and our lack of competitiveness. I was in consultation with the Minister of State who was very positive on an application to European Globalisation Adjustment Fund. However, there was a failure on the part of Enterprise Ireland, FÁS and the other agencies that had come together to form a task force in Loughrea to complete the application form for European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, similar to what happened in Limerick. The failure to make an application to Europe for funds for additional training for the many people who lost their jobs in Loughrea indicates something terribly wrong with the agencies responsible for nurturing, helping and supporting industries, particularly at a time of crisis when so many people are losing their jobs due to lack of competitiveness.

It is important that agencies like Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland are fair to all areas of the country and do not concentrate solely on Galway, Limerick, Cork and Dublin that they regard as attractive - although they will deny saying it - with the rest of us looking on in. Why did the Government introduce a spatial strategy concentrating on Athlone, Tullamore and Mullingar, while ignoring a town like Ballinasloe that was lost to industry? Three major industries were lost there in a matter of years and the Government could not see the merit in having four centres rather than a three-way triangle for industrial development. Ballinasloe and east County Galway in general have been left in a wilderness without industrial development. It is great to see development in Galway city to where many people commute. However, the Government's spatial strategy has been ignored by those agencies and we have relied on the efforts of the county enterprise board and Galway Rural Development Company to create jobs in small units. They were encouraged by these agencies but have been starved of finances while the other agencies do not know what to do with it and hence they go off on their various excursions to foreign lands in the guise of seeking employment opportunities and training.

The Government should promote the potential of all areas rather than the concentration and focus on a few major areas for job creation when the opportunity presents itself again. We should never again see a reply to a parliamentary question that there was no visit by IDA Ireland. It could not even encourage industrialists of any foreign or indigenous source to visit towns such as Ballinasloe, Tuam or Loughrea. There is something wrong in those agencies if they cannot achieve that. There are examples. It is on the record that they have failed to take the initiative in persuading industrialists to even consider locating in those towns. It may be necessary to change the structure of the IDA and Enterprise Ireland, including by amalgamating them, to ensure this is followed through and that there is a fair chance for everyone in the country. It is the same for other areas throughout the country. We cannot let these people continue on their merry way, saying nobody is interested in going to this town or that town. That is not the case.

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