Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

I wish to share my time with Deputies Olivia Mitchell and Denis Naughten.

I have listened to this debate and I note that all sides are in agreement on many issues. We all want to effect significant progress for our people considering the new economic reality of more than 450,000 people unemployed while at the same time continuing to work within the EU-IMF assistance package. We have to find ways to stem the human tragedy of more than 1,000 young people emigrating every week to Canada, Australia, England and the United States. The lifeblood of our nation is leaving our shores. Under our former Government our finest export was our young, bright-eyed and highly educated workforce. We cannot allow the brain drain of the 1980s which crippled our economy for more than a decade, to recur in this decade.

This Government is meeting the challenges head-on. In the first few weeks of office we have presented a constructive, positive plan within the confines of the EU-IMF and within the constraints with which the Fianna Fáil Government left the country and the banking system. We have to deal with the resultant economic collapse in a way which affects the EU-IMF deal as little as possible.

The programme for Government is a plan to create employment through the NewERA authority. Significant areas for future recovery are clearly identified for future recovery. Now is the time to invest in those areas in order to have the skills and jobs in place to meet the future and to make the much-needed changes. The NewERA plan will streamline and restructure the semi-State companies. There will be significant additional investments over and above current plans over the next four years in next generation infrastructure in the areas of energy, broadband, forestry and water. These investments and the accompanying semi-state restructuring process will be financed and proactively managed by a new economic and recovery authority which will absorb the National Pensions Reserve Fund. This is my responsibility as Minister of State and it is my current work.

I note a constructive engagement from all sides of the House in this debate, across all political parties and none. We are all trying to do the very best for our country, putting our best foot forward and dealing with these issues constructively.

It is a question of how to create jobs. The Government's national development plan has identified four significant areas to be dealt with by the NewERA authority. We need to address the significant deficits in the water infrastructure, some of which are due to climate change and resultant lower rainfall in certain parts of the country. The 34 existing local authorities need to be organised in a better way as they individually manage each of the water investment programmes. I hope to have a final consultancy report on the creation of Irish Water - Uisce Éire, by next October and to have legislation in place by early next year. This will change how water infrastructure is managed and will lead to the creation of many new jobs in that area.

The next generation telecoms network is a significant area in which we must play a leading role. Unfortunately, under the previous Government, Ireland had fallen behind in this regard. We have also learned many lessons from the unfortunate case of Eircom and what happened when it was sold off in its totality. The State will co-invest with the private sector and the commercial semi-State sector to provide next generation broadband to every home and business in the State. This will be achieved by delivering fibre-optic to the home or to the kerb in the case of 90% of homes and businesses with the remaining 10% provided with high speed mobile or satellite broadband. The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Rabbitte and I will be meeting with the chief executives of Irish telecoms companies with a view to finding out their plans for future telecoms infrastructure.

If Government, semi-State and private companies involved in telecoms or water provision all work together to put forward plans in this most difficult and desperate of times, then the best progress can be achieved. My hope is that we can provide 100 megabytes per second to most homes in the country which is what is provided in many other states with the same pattern of dispersed population as Ireland. The structures must be put in place but we must acknowledge that the State cannot invest in telecoms unless there is a clear market failure. However, the NewERA authority will enable us to identify areas where jobs can be created.

The 21st century smart grid is critical to improving energy transmission. Beginning with the handing over of ESB's transmission assets to Eirgrid, a new smart grid company will be created with ultimate full ownership and responsibility for the development of Ireland's electricity and gas networks. Bio-energy and forestry is the fourth area in which the NewERA company will be involved. The development of Ireland's forestry and bio-energies need to be developed. NewERA will merge Bord na Móna and Coillte to create a new State company which will become a global leader in the commercialisation of next generation bio-energy technologies.

The plans and discussions are in place with the Departments of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Environment, Heritage and Local Government, and Finance. Many individual professional groups are also involved in this effort to effect a real change in how jobs are created. I refer to a report, Future Skills Needs of Enterprise within the Green Economy in Ireland, which was published some time ago. It clearly identifies a roadmap for young people in our education system. It suggests what courses they should do, and on what areas the academic institutions should concentrate, so that they have the skills the economy needs if it is to move forward.

I take the point made by some Deputies to the effect that under the last Administration, approximately 7,000 apprentices were unable to complete their apprenticeships and now have no employment. If our young people and educators were to examine this society's future skills needs - I refer to areas like renewable energy, energy efficiency, water and waste water, waste management, consultancy services, smart technology, electrical engineering, marine and tidal studies, foreign languages, green chemistry, smart grids and wind turbines - they would appreciate that the educational attainment of our young people could be improved significantly. Thousands of jobs could be created in renewable energy.

We need to organise ourselves so that we can work with all the interest groups, particularly the semi-State companies. We need to step forward together under the umbrella of the NewERA entity or company. That will provide the leadership and reorganisation needed. It will direct the educational future of our young people. If the State sells certain semi-State assets at an appropriate and reasonable time as suggested in the programme for Government - it should not be a fire sale - it could acquire up to €2 billion to invest in the creation of the jobs I have mentioned. We must put in place the climate required to create thousands of necessary jobs. I hope we can all step forward together in that regard. I hope to report to the Dáil as soon as possible on this issue.

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