Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I asked this question because, as he will remember, in June 2011 the Minister launched a high level group report in Killybegs which outlined how 250 jobs would be created in the area in the following years in the seafood processing sector. It is remarkably difficult to find out or verify whether and where those jobs are being created. It appears that the grant announcements made are linked to creating a given number of jobs but those jobs are only aspirational and are not really a factor in deciding on grand aid. In fact, it seems more likely to be a nice add-on to any given announcement to say that it will create eight or ten jobs. In truth, that is not the purpose of the grant aid and it has led to a good deal of confusion among the public. There is a significant difficulty in Killybegs, Donegal at the moment because workers there are being paid off in factories and people cannot see where these jobs are being created. There is an issue with transparency and it must be addressed.

See this speech in context