Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Last month, during priority questions to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor, I asked about the anomalies emerging between IDA Ireland and ConnectIreland. There have been a number of articles in the Sunday Business Postwhich have caused me to question what actually transpired between the two agencies and if this is likely to result in a cost to the State because of the disagreement. In her reply, the Minister told me she could not go into detail because there was a ongoing legal dispute between the parties.

Yesterday, the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation heard allegations that ConnectIreland was possibly stymied in creating jobs in what sounds essentially like a turf war. On the other hand, IDA Ireland has noted that ConnectIreland failed by a long shot to reach the target set for the number of jobs the scheme was meant to create. Whichever side is correct, the fact remains that there is a significant and fundamental difference between the job numbers claimed both by IDA Ireland and ConnectIreland.

Earlier today, RTE's Morning Irelandprogramme reported that the verification process used by IDA Ireland to ascertain whether a connector would be due a payment under the scheme had refused a significant number of connections, yet one third of these were overturned on review. This suggests a serious issue with the verification process used by IDA Ireland.

The core issue is that jobs were potentially lost to Ireland. If this is the case, the reasons for that must be made clear. An important element of this is the potential reputational damage caused. One can imagine it from the viewpoint of someone who wanted to invest, but there are two State agencies essentially almost in dispute with each other. We must look at the confusion that would create.

The issue is time-sensitive in that the contract expires this coming Sunday. Clearly, these issues must be satisfactorily addressed, and not just behind closed doors, before any new contract is entered into or the current one is cancelled. Why is there such a fundamental difference between IDA Ireland and ConnectIreland regarding job numbers? Who is nearer to the truth here? If it transpires that ConnectIreland is telling the truth, how much public money will IDA Ireland have to fork out in compensation? Is that figure likely to be many millions, as has been reported in the media, with sums of around €14 million circulating? Will IDA Ireland or the Department be called upon to pay out compensation if that is the case? Has any amount been factored into the budgets of IDA Ireland or the Department for this?

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