John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)

-----regard innovation, first and foremost, as something that might threaten their pension if something went wrong. In some cases these organisations have become so fat they do not have the flexibility and mindset necessary to deal radically with the differences that have arisen in the labour market. In Waterford we have haemorrhaged manufacturing jobs. Foreign direct investment is almost at a standstill and small businesses are collapsing as they will continue to do over the next few months. Most people are adapting, however, realising they must do so to survive. Are the Government agencies capable and willing to adapt quickly enough to the unique and sometimes localised difficulties that our workforce is encountering? As time goes by I am less convinced of their ability and resolution to change themselves in order to deal with the massive rate of unemployment and the issues that exist around this. At the head of these State agencies we need experienced business orientated minds. We do not need and cannot afford any longer bureaucrats or political appointees whose business skills do not mirror the scale of difficulty that our workforce finds itself in.

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