Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I would like to ask the Minister about two areas. I will focus on the first of them in this part of my supplementary questioning. The Minister mentioned IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland in his reply. He said earlier that those agencies will be aiming to create approximately 24,000 net jobs next year. A report published in October was critical of the loss of a number of key personnel from Enterprise Ireland. It has been unable to replace them because of the ban on recruitment. The Minister is aware of the importance of Enterprise Ireland, which is being given extra roles and responsibilities as part of the roll-out of the local enterprise offices. It is being given that additional workload at a time when key personnel who have departed are not being replaced. How confident is the Minister that Enterprise Ireland can continue to play a vital role in job creation, in light of the enhanced roles and responsibilities I have mentioned and the departure of a number of key personnel from the organisation?

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