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

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate on the jobs crisis. I want to concentrate on Donegal where the crisis is probably at its bleakest. We have heard much about the success of the Government and the IDA in attracting investment to the country in the past year. We are told they have brought in over 12,500 jobs. Only 28 of those were in the north west and exactly zero in Donegal. An export-led recovery means nothing for the people of Donegal when we see that there is no commitment to foreign direct investment in the north west. The so-called action plan for jobs has not delivered. I do not believe it will deliver because the Government has made no commitment to the domestic economy. There are few if any supports for businesses that are struggling in the domestic economy. As businesses have closed in the county there has been a cycle of reduction in spending power in the local economy leading to more closures and that cycle continues.

The decline in traditional industries such as fishing has removed a vital income from many rural areas around the county and the failure of the Government to deal with the fishing ban in area 6A has caused many people to lose their livelihood. In my own town of Killybegs fish processors have received grant aid to improve their production facilities that has led to the loss of hundreds of jobs as the processors have become more efficient. This is justified by the Government in order to improve the viability of the remaining jobs but the lack of response to support replacement jobs has sapped local confidence.

This Government has to re-focus on the domestic economy and SMEs to ensure that we can grow jobs. There has been some minor good news too. I recently attended the Enterprise Ireland High Potential Start-up Roadshow where six Donegal enterprises were show-cased. These businesses are focused on export which shows some sign of hope for job creation. If these enterprises can grow and develop the county will benefit. If the Government does not support the local economy, however, and the small retail and employment sector serving that economy, the ability of these businesses to maintain themselves in the county and to develop and grow will be greatly undermined. The Government needs to focus on the local economy to make sure that the issues that have starved spending and stifled business are addressed. This includes dealing fully with the mortgage crisis by write-downs of unsustainable debt and not simply re-stating existing policy again and again.

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