Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)

In the context of 450,000 unemployed people, the important role performed by Enterprise Ireland and the IDA and their job creation capacities, is it not important that both agencies have more than sufficient staff to enable them to meet their job targets? Is it not unseemly and pathetic that Enterprise Ireland and the IDA have been in negotiations with the Minister regarding recruitment since September 2009?

The chairman of the IDA felt compelled to write to the Minister in May 2010 indicating that despite the fanfare surrounding its launch, the Horizon 2020 strategy would fall flat on its face and job replacements would not be delivered to Sligo and Limerick, areas which have recently incurred major job losses with the closure of Dell and other companies. The letter stated that a lack of staff would have an enormous impact on staff in overseas offices as they work to bring investors to Ireland. Is this letter not an indictment of the Minister and his Department and the Department of Finance and its control network? What message does it send out? Surely this is the one area where an exception should be made to the moratorium on recruitment. Every job created by the IDA and Enterprise Ireland saves the Exchequer, which is controlled by the Department of Finance, €20,000 per annum. What better way is there to spend money?

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