Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Deasy for raising this matter. I understand that Enterprise Ireland was informed in late September that Kel-Tech engineering was facing a situation involving some of its customers which would have a significant immediate impact on the business. Enterprise Ireland has been informed that a number of jobs will be lost immediately, as all the business concerned has been pulled back in-house by the customer.

I am conscious of the anxiety job losses create for the workers involved and their families, as well as the local community. I assure the House that Enterprise Ireland will continue to work with the company to find replacement business for it. The State agencies will make every effort they can to develop new employment opportunities and support existing jobs in Waterford and the south east.

As the Deputy acknowledged, I initiated the south-east employment action plan, following the closure of TalkTalk in 2011, and I instructed all the State players to work together for job creation in the region. The severity of unemployment in the region has been a long-standing problem going back many years and will not change overnight. I have been to Waterford several times this year to ensure the urgent focus on employment in the region is maintained. Notwithstanding the regrettable loss of jobs in Kel-Tech and the entrenched nature of unemployment in the region, some progress is being made, as Deputy Deasy has acknowledged.

The agencies under the remit of my Department are actively focused on bringing employment to the south east. Following my direction to assign a clear priority to the region, the number of IDA company site visits there in the first six months of 2012 was greater than the total for 2010 and 2011, which is a positive indicator of future progress in attracting foreign direct investment to the area. Enterprise Ireland supported the establishment in Waterford of the Eishtec call centre, where employment has reached 230. That was a significant achievement and came from the skill sets in TalkTalk. Former employees of TalkTalk were at the back of that establishment.

Other recent initiatives by Enterprise Ireland include the approval of 14 high quality projects under its competitive feasibility fund, 12 companies being approved for graduate placement. In addition, five community enterprise centres have been approved for funding for full-time business development managers and a high take-up of the Enterprise Ireland innovation voucher scheme has been recorded in Waterford. The two county enterprise boards in the city and county have created 59 new jobs and the South-East Regional Authority has secured EU funding for a number of enterprise and innovation focused projects. Science Foundation Ireland has funded eight research awards to the Waterford Institute of Technology.

While progress has been made under the auspices of the south-east region employment action plan, I believe there is a need to develop new sectors in the region and to upgrade the skills base in general. The enterprise development agencies have adopted a spotlight on Waterford and the south east region and implemented such actions as continue to focus on the sustainability and growth opportunities through intense engagement with their existing client base, building on the potential in cleantech and life sciences for the region, pursuing opportunities for Waterford in the area of cloud computing, e-games, international financial services, e-commerce and other content businesses and building in particular on the evaluation and research strengths in the region. My agencies and I remain committed to working with Deputy Deasy and others to ensure the sharp focus on job creation in the region established under the south-east action plan is maintained.

I am somewhat encouraged that the latest quarterly national household survey data show that employment in the south east, which had fallen by 38,000, or 17%, in the three years to the first quarter of 2011, has stabilised and the latest data show an increase of 1,300 people at work in the past 12 months. This is a small but welcome sign that there is something of a turnaround. That is not to understate the need for a continuing focus on the region, which I will pursue with vigour.

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