Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Let me confirm to Deputy Ó Snodaigh that quarterly national household survey data for quarter one of 2015 is due for publication by the CSO this Thursday, 21 May at 11 a.m. I am not aware of the figures as of yet nor does the Government get the figures before the CSO releases them.

Both Deputies asked similar questions. Two-tier recovery was mentioned. I would not call it a two-tier recovery but there is no doubt that the large mass of population in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Galway means those places are going to recover faster, specifically in the city areas - I think the Deputy would recognise that. It is going to take a little bit longer to go down into the rural parts of the country. Deputy Ó Snodaigh spoke about the south east, particularly County Carlow. As he mentioned his candidate I will mention mine - David Fitzgerald has outlined his plans for Carlow-Kilkenny over the last weeks. In the south east in general there were 40,000 jobs lost between 2008 and 2010.

In the past two years 23,000 jobs have been created.

Regional imbalance is a concern and a priority for the Government. This is why the Minister, Deputy Bruton, has specific target areas for the various regions in the Action Plan for Jobs. He spoke about this on Leaders' Questions. Recently he brought together all of the agencies under the Action Plan for Jobs to get the regions up and going. The Minister changed the structure of the local employment offices, LEOs, and they are now more interactive with regard to what is happening in each county than they may have been in the past. The 2014 annual results for the LEOs published by the Minister show that 4,012 extra jobs were created by companies supported by the Department through the LEOs. At the end of 2014, total direct employment among the 6,058 client companies stood at 31,326 jobs. A total of 7,305 new jobs were created during 2014 in gross terms. Taking into account losses, the net increase in the number of people at work in these companies was 14%. Jobs growth happened in every county during 2014 in companies supported by LEOs.

In recent months, Combilift created an extra 200 jobs in Monaghan with a €40 million investment. In Tipperary, Ribworld created 100 jobs. In Leitrim, VistaMed created 125 jobs. In Longford, C & D Foods created 70 jobs. In Athlone, Alexon created 200 jobs. In Waterford, West Pharmaceutical created 150 jobs. Bausch and Lomb made a recent announcement there also. In Wexford, 200 jobs were created by ClearStream, and TalkTalk made a jobs announcement in recent years.

We would love to be able to say 300 or 400 jobs are being created throughout the country, but we must create the economy and the basis for enticing companies and foreign direct investment to come to Ireland. There was a total collapse of the construction industry in 2008 and 2009 and it is still recovering. In fairness, the Department of Education and Skills and the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, have made significant investment in local authority housing, and there have been many school extensions and new schools. St. Aidan's in Enniscorthy has had an investment of €7.5 million, and a €4.5 million investment has been made in St. Senan's national school. The CBS in Enniscorthy and the national school in Bree have had significant investments, as have other schools throughout the county. This investment increases employment in the construction industry, but we cannot depend on this industry as we did in the past. We must look at other methods of employment.

Under the Action Plan for Jobs, the Minister, Deputy Bruton, is acutely aware of an imbalance, but I do not want to call it a two-tier recovery. Every county in the country has seen an improvement in the tourism industry because of the reduction in the VAT rate put in place by the Government to entice tourists from across the water to come to Ireland and create extra employment, and this has happened. I am concerned about the fact that hotels throughout the greater Dublin area have increased their prices significantly in recent months. Hotels went through a very lean period during the recession, but I would not like to see them out-pricing themselves, because it will turn people away from coming to Ireland for holiday or seeing it as a cheap destination. It is all about employment and having deals for people to come to Ireland.

Deputy Ó Snodaigh spoke about migration and emigration . We all know of people who emigrated between 2008 and 2012, specifically young, well-educated people. We call it the brain drain of Ireland. Many of these people are returning. I cannot say all of them will coming back, as some of them have set up homes and families in the US, Australia, Canada or elsewhere. We must create the economic climate for them to return. Creating the economic climate to establish new jobs and encourage direct investment is the most important thing we must do.

The Deputy also spoke about Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. I did not realise the work that Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland carry out until I became a Minister of State, because I now have a direct relationship with them. On trips abroad, specifically for St. Patrick's Day, representatives of Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland travel with Government representatives. We also have diplomats who represent Ireland abroad. They do an absolutely fantastic job. I did not realise the work they do until I went abroad and saw it at first hand.

I would love to see IDA Ireland bring more foreign direct investment companies or potential clients to County Wexford, but there must be an attractiveness there for companies. My understanding is that when a foreign direct investment company approaches IDA Ireland, it must go through a checklist as to whether Wexford or Kildare has facilities A, B, C, D and E. A county might not have A but they might have B. It is about putting the perfect fit together. One company was very interested in locating in the south east, as the Rosslare Europort is there, but the reason it hesitated about coming to Wexford was the road network. The Enniscorthy and New Ross bypasses will open up County Wexford and create an extra incentive for a foreign direct investment company to go to Wexford and create jobs. I have no doubt this is the same throughout the country.

I do not want us to leave the House saying there is a two-tier recovery in Ireland. Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway are recovering a touch faster, but we must create the environment for the rest of the country. The Minister, Deputy Bruton, is acutely aware of this, which is why he has established regional projects in the Action Plan for Jobs, which was a brilliant initiative in early 2012. Every Department is involved in it. It breaks down the barriers to creating employment in Ireland.

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