Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The leak was most regrettable. I am not blaming the Minister. If the Minister is trying to stop leaks in the Dáil, she has enough problems with Irish Water and WikiLeaks besides talking about leaks here.

The Minister needs to refocus on Tipperary, both north and south. It is a long county. It used to be served by two different regional authorities - the south east and mid-west. We are under sustained attack and it is not acceptable.

I was in Washington at the ambassador's engagement and I met the CEO of IDA Ireland. I have never met him in Ireland. One cannot meet him. IDA Ireland needs to re-jig the process and refocus, get connected and not be afraid of the coverage of ConnectIreland because it was getting some of the credit for jobs. We want the jobs. We do not care who provides them. The taxpayers' money is going into them. It is a smoke screen to say that there is a legal case with ConnectIreland. ConnectIreland has done a good job, as has Connect Tipperary, but they have been muffled and strangled at every corner. IDA Ireland needs to get off its high horse and get down and dirty.

The Minister did not hear me and other Deputies ask the delegation that attended the meeting about the site visits. She had left the meeting as she had to come to the Dáil. There were very few visits to Tipperary and the members of the delegation would not tell us where or what plants were visited. Why the secrecy? We want jobs. We want industries brought to Tipperary to show them the road network and other excellent facilities serving Tipperary, including the IT, and above all, the excellent workforce that we have on offer. We need that to happen rather than wringing of hands and saying that there is an action plan. We need action. We need the Minister to get connected the way Tipperary is and be down to us soon, not putting me off every time I ask her to visit. One gets tired of asking.

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