Michael McNamara (Clare, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The reports I quoted were from Forfás and the Local Government Management Agency. Both are State agencies that report directly to the Minister of State's Department.

The Minister of State spoke about jobs. I know all about jobs and the lack of jobs where I come from. I represent Clare in the mid-west, which has the highest unemployment rate in the country. There is an empty Dell plant sitting in Limerick and I am damn sure that many people in Limerick city would like to work in ICT. There is no reason that I can see why every single ICT job has to be located in Dublin rather than the mid-west. If water is a prerequisite for this kind of work, it should be noted there is plenty of water and power in the mid-west. Moneypoint and Ardnacrusha are both in my constituency and there are plenty of people looking for work. They are getting planes and boats regularly. I acknowledge we need jobs in Dublin.

As we enter this decade of commemoration, we commemorate the democratic programme of the first Dáil. It referred to equality between men and women and stipulated that all the State's resources would be harnessed for all the people, not just the people living in one particular city. The Shannon is a national resource and nobody is seeking to keep it for Clare, Limerick, north Tipperary or south Galway. Rather, they are looking for a guarantee that the level of the Shannon will be maintained as it is now, and as it has been since Ardnacrusha was built. The Minister of State referred to major infrastructure projects. Some 20% of the GDP of this State was harnessed in 1925. Some 5,000 men worked around the clock to get the power station built. Is that to be sacrificed for this?

We can have major infrastructure projects but they do not all have to be in Dublin. They can be located across the country, as has been the case since the foundation of this State. We can have people working in ICT and tourism on Lough Derg just as well as we can have them working in some boghole in the midlands. If there is to be a reservoir in the midlands and Dublin runs short, the reservoir will be emptied to supply Dublin. What will happen then? Leisure jobs will be jeopardised in the midlands.

There is already a nascent leisure industry on Lough Derg. It has gone downhill. For 20 years since I grew up, many tourists have come into the mid-west to spend money and go out on the lake to fish and sail. Is that to be jeopardised? I am not talking about selfishly keeping water for one area but I am suggesting we should not damage one area to benefit another. The little water that exists in the mid-west at present needs to be guaranteed and maintained before we talk about diverting it anywhere. The Minister of State knows where I stand.

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