Beverley Flynn (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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It is with regret I raise this matter following the announcement of the loss of 100 jobs at Contact Partners call centre in Castlebar, County Mayo, earlier this week. Unfortunately, this comes after the announcement of job losses at Allergan a number of months ago and at Volex last year. Job creation has been a bad news story in Castlebar and County Mayo generally. The recent jobs losses have had serious social and economic consequences for the town, even though it is designated a hub town in the national spatial strategy, as are Ballina and Westport.

Recently, the House debated the national development plan and, in particular, the underspend in the BMW region. I met IDA Ireland representatives subsequently to discuss job creation and what the authority was doing to attract industry into County Mayo but, disturbingly, I was informed that the greatest obstacle to attracting investors is the inadequate infrastructure and, in particular, the quality of the N5. This is sad given that during the first four years of the NDP, 2000-04, only 54% of the money allocated to national roads in the BMW region was spent compared with 121% in the south and east regions.

The N5 is the main artery between Dublin and Mayo and it is severely deficient for more than 25 miles. The section between Ballaghaderreen and Strokestown is unfit and unsafe to accommodate heavy traffic and the Castlebar to Westport road, which was an NRA priority in the county more than five years ago, has slipped down the pecking order. One would question when it will be upgraded. These projects have major consequences for industry in County Mayo.

Contact Partners has offered alternative employment to many of its young workers at its Shannon facility. While a number are single, many of them are settled with families and uprooting them to Shannon is not an option. A total of 100 employees have been severely affected by the decision to close. IDA Ireland has built a new business park in Castlebar in recognition of its designation as a hub town under the national spatial strategy but the authority is unable to attract industry to the town because of its inadequate infrastructure.

I do not seek a task force or target group because in the past they have run into the ground and ended up going nowhere. I ask for a positive Government decision to invest quickly in infrastructure in the town. Once potential investors drive through the town, they are left with a negative impression. Given the competition between towns throughout the State seeking to attract industry, this is a severe handicap for Castlebar. I call on the Government to do something about it.

I refer to the debate a number of weeks ago. Regarding the infrastructure operational programme, there was a €716 million shortfall in spending in the BMW region over the past four years. The Minister of State, Deputy Killeen, accepted that fact in the House on that occasion and the Minister for Finance accepted it on several occasions. Those figures are not disputed. Deputy Killeen also accepted in the House that night on behalf of the Government that towns in the BMW region now have a very significant claim to future investment in infrastructure, particularly in 2005 and 2006. However, only last week, in an article in The Irish Times, I was very disappointed to see that the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív, the only Minister we have in the west of Ireland, tried to put some sort of gloss on spending in the region by saying that there had been a 125% increase in money going on infrastructure since 2000.

Rory O'Hanlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy's time is concluded.

Beverley Flynn (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Given that we accept that there is a deficit of more than €700 million on infrastructure, that only goes to show that the level of investment in 2000 was so low that a 125% increase made very little difference. I ask the Minister to give those points favourable consideration, after which we might see an improvement in the near future.

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Cooper-Flynn for raising this matter. I was disappointed to hear of the recent decision announced on 18 April by Contact Partners Communications Limited to close its Castlebar operation. That decision was undoubtedly a setback to the area.

The parent company decided that keeping the Castlebar operation open is not a viable option. It has decided to close Castlebar and consolidate all business at its other Irish operation in Shannon. The company has stated that, operationally, it is not practical for it to continue to incur the additional costs of operating from two centres in Ireland when it could do so from only one.

Current employment at Castlebar is 101 — there are 50 people employed in Shannon — and the company is planning final closure on 18 May next. I understand the staff is being offered the option of relocating to Shannon. The offer will include a relocation package. Finding alternative employment for the workers affected is a priority for FÁS and the State development agencies. FÁS has already been in contact with the company to offer its full range of support services. The company indicated that it would reply to FÁS at a later date.

Achievement of balanced regional development is a central goal for IDA Ireland. The national spatial strategy provides a framework for achievement of that goal through the prioritisation of development and investment in the linked hub of Castlebar-Ballina and in other key towns so that the needs of foreign direct investment can be met. IDA Ireland is committed to the development of Castlebar and County Mayo and is actively promoting the county for new foreign investment. Since January 2004, there have been seven first-time site visits to the county.

In 2004 alone, four IDA Ireland-supported companies committed themselves to research and development projects in County Mayo, with potential spending of approximately €5.5 million. That is a significant development essential for the development of high-quality employment in County Mayo. The current property investment programme represents cumulative planned spending of approximately €11 million by IDA Ireland in County Mayo for the four years ending in December 2005.

IDA Ireland is investing significantly in the provision of planned and focused property solutions in Castlebar and County Mayo. That is seen as an essential marketing tool in the process of attracting potential new investors to the county. IDA Ireland is developing world-class business and technology parks in Ballina and Westport, as well as Castlebar. In Castlebar, a new 16-acre, state-of-the-art business and technology park has been fully developed and is being actively promoted by IDA Ireland for new FDI projects.

Enterprise Ireland provides preferential funding for companies with detailed export plans that are expanding or establishing a business in Castlebar or County Mayo. Enterprise Ireland approved funding support of more than €5.8 million and paid more than €4.8 million to companies in the county for the years 2001 to 2004. To date in 2005, some €563,000 has been approved in support to the indigenous sector. That financial support will enable the companies to fund their plans for innovation and new product development.

Enterprise Ireland has also approved funding for ten community enterprise centres in County Mayo. Eight centres have now been completed, including one in Castlebar. The incubator unit at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology in Castlebar received a capital grant of €1,280,000 in 2002 from Enterprise Ireland. A further €76,000 was also approved towards the cost of a centre manager. The main objectives of those incubation centres are to support the development and expansion of campus company activity and to encourage and support the commercialisation of research and development carried out in the third level sector.

Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology is an important local source of highly skilled graduates for industry in Castlebar and County Mayo. The campus is currently working with local industry to develop specific courses to meet industry needs in information and communications and medical technologies.

I am encouraged by the most recent live register analysis figures for Castlebar and County Mayo released by the Central Statistics Office. The year-on-year figures for Castlebar show a decrease of 99 people, from 964 to 865. Overall, the numbers on the live register for County Mayo stood at 5,297 in March 2005, down from 5,863 in March 2004, a decrease of almost 10% in unemployment using that indicator.

I am satisfied the strategies and policies pursued by the State development agencies, including the county enterprise board, together with our ongoing commitment to regional development, will continue to bear fruit in overseas investment, business development and increased employment opportunities for both Castlebar and County Mayo. The relevant State agencies will continue to make every effort to secure alternative employment for the staff affected by the job losses at Contact Partners Communications Limited.