John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)

As the Minister is aware, the 575 jobs are gone. Of the workers and their families I spoke with last week, 12 people had found new employment.

I am not levelling direct criticism at the Minister. He is relatively new in the job and he went to County Waterford and did his best. This debate will be broadcast on WLR FM shortly. I do not hesitate to state that there is no criticism of the Minister, but there appears to be an abysmal failure on the part of the job creation agencies in Waterford. In particular, the IDA has been unable to deliver substantial or sustainable jobs to Waterford. The statistics laid before the House last year say it all. Of the 190 prospective investors that visited Ireland last year, only three were brought to Waterford by the IDA. This was in spite of the IDA's considerable budget. The south east is losing more jobs than it is creating. This situation must be examined.

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