Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am not advocating on behalf of ConnectIreland which is happy to take its chances in competing in an open tender process to manage the scheme; rather, I am saying the Succeed in Ireland initiative was a success. The Tánaiste and I agree that the initiative taps into our the diaspora in creating inward investment and jobs. Unfortunately, for the past eight and a half months there has been nothing but drift. The scheme was brought to an end prematurely having previously been extended. There was no reason not to extend the scheme in parallel with the review. Unfortunately, we have not seen the terms of reference for the review or the establishment of a review panel. When we raised this matter at a committee meeting yesterday, we received a dead man's answer. Granted, the new Minister has only been in office for a number of days, but the point must be impressed on the Government which must acknowledge its seriousness. There is a significant resource of people around the world who want to create jobs and invest in Ireland. We are not taking this as an opportunity to bash IDA Ireland. Like the Tánaiste, we acknowledge that it has played a considerable and successful role, but it is not above questioning either.

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