Dáil debates

Wednesday, 28 September 2005

Priority Questions.

Unemployment Levels.

2:30 pm

Photo of Séamus HealySéamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Question 141: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the steps he has taken to address the very serious and long-standing unemployment levels in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary since he met a deputation from the town council and Oireachtas Members on 19 July 2005; the number of site visits to Carrick-on-Suir the industrial promotion agencies have arranged since that date; the priority he has instructed the industrial promotion agencies to give to job creation in Carrick-on-Suir; and if he will establish a jobs task force for the town. [25668/05]

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Support for job creation and investment is a matter for the industrial development agencies. Under the industrial development Acts I may give general policy directives to IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland but I am precluded from giving directives regarding individual undertakings or from giving preference to one area over others.

As the Deputy is aware, I met a delegation from Carrick-on-Suir town council, led by the mayor, Councillor Sylvia Cooney Sheehan, on Tuesday, 19 July last. Following that meeting I met FÁS and requested it to re-examine its level of engagement with the long-term unemployed in the town. The director general has reported to me that resulting from this review, FÁS has decided to make an additional budget allocation to fund its activities in the Carrick-on-Suir area.

As I stated in a letter to the manager of the town council on 20 September 2005, FÁS, as a key strategic response to the particular circumstances in Carrick-on-Suir, will implement a high support programme, initially prioritising support for 100 clients and subsequently to additional clients who may wish to engage in the process. The programme will provide a one-to-one support process for individuals to identify training and development needs. Funding has been put in place to respond to the needs identified either through training provided by FÁS or any other agency which can respond with appropriate interventions.

By its nature the process will take some time. It will commence in October 2005 and continue through 2006. Initial arrangements have already commenced between FÁS and the Department of Social and Family Affairs to enable the engagement to commence as quickly as possible. In addition, a computer training course is commencing on 24 October 2005 for clients identified by the local employment service.

That meeting was also attended by officials from IDA and Enterprise Ireland and I have been assured by both agencies that they will do what they can to assist in bringing investment to the town. Since that meeting there have been no site visits to the town in terms of foreign direct investment but the overall IDA strategy for south Tipperary is to concentrate future economic development in Clonmel and to develop the town as a first-class location for overseas investment. This strategy has been agreed with the south Tipperary county development board.

Enterprise Ireland continues to foster job creation in Tipperary South and in the south east region. Enterprise Ireland job creation activity is focused on the creation of new jobs through supporting entrepreneurs setting up new high potential start-up companies, the retention and creation of new jobs in existing companies and in enhancing the innovation capability of Ireland at a national and regional level through support of research in companies and third level institutions.

Carrick-on-Suir has benefited from a significant amount of direct financial assistance from Tipperary South Riding enterprise board. Since its inception to date, the board has approved €573,895 in financial assistance to business in the Carrick-on-Suir area resulting in the creation of 67 jobs. Tipperary South Riding enterprise board has promoted its autumn training programme for businesses widely in south Tipperary including in Carrick-on-Suir. Its first autumn training programme in Carrick-on-Suir commenced on 6 September with 20 participants as well as additional participants from Carrick-on-Suir attending training programmes taking place in Clonmel.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

As part of its wider commitment to the economic development of south Tipperary, the Tipperary South Riding CEB is represented on the newly formed economic development committee as well as the tourism development committee. The CEB representative co-ordinated the development and launch of a new website promoting Carrick-on-Suir in August 2005 as part of its contribution to the work of this committee.

Any further initiatives regarding job creation should be under the auspices of the county development board, with which the industrial development agencies are already involved. This would be in line with the position adopted in other areas. In recent years, we have steered away from establishing task forces and, in keeping with this policy it is not proposed to establish the specific task force to which the Deputy referred. I am confident the policies and strategies pursued by the development agencies, together with the ongoing commitment and support from Government, will bear fruit in terms of sustainable additional investment for all the towns in south Tipperary.

Photo of Séamus HealySéamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)
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In view of the Minister's reply today and his replies to other questions in the last session is it not true that he has washed his hands of job creation in Carrick-on-Suir? Since the deputation met the Minister on 19 July last, no job has been created and there has been no site visit to the town. The Minister and the Government have abandoned the town of Carrick-on-Suir. There are 960 people unemployed among the town's population of 5,000. Does the Minister understand what that means?

This is not something that occurred recently; it has been the case for ten to 15 years. The Minister's party has been in Government for all but two of the past 20 years but it has not raised a hand to create employment in Carrick-on-Suir. There is the same level of unemployment in the town today as there was when the Minister's party came into office in 1997. It is time to establish a jobs task force to ensure that industry is located in Carrick-on-Suir. Priority must be given to the town because it is an unemployment black spot. I hope the Minister will establish such a task force to ensure job creation and investment there.

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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At the meeting in July, which the Deputy as well as Deputies Davern and Hayes and the councillors attended the overriding consideration was the training agenda. It was accepted that up-skilling and a proper skills foundation in the town was the key to future employment capacity and to securing jobs created in the region. It is unacceptable to do what the Deputy has done, which is to put a circle around Carrick-on-Suir and suggest that I should only look inwards and not 15 miles down the road, where last year the IDA announced a 1,000 jobs expansion in Guidant in Clonmel. It is simply untenable to attack either the IDA or the Government. They are implementing a reasonable strategy for the region. More than 200 jobs are to be created over the next couple of years in that facility.

The key agenda is to ensure we get as many people who are unemployed in Carrick-on-Suir into jobs that are created seven or 15 miles up the road as well as within the town——

Photo of Séamus HealySéamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Eight years later the town still has the same number unemployed.

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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That is the sensible way forward for the town and for south Tipperary. We must maximise the strengths the area can offer and then market them. That will have a ripple effect in towns such as Carrick-on-Suir and other towns in Clonmel's hinterland. That is what we are doing. It is a sensible strategy. If improvements can be made on the skills front, it will be possible to make inroads into what I accept are unacceptable levels of unemployment. That is the reason I immediately contacted FÁS following the representations made to me by the mayor of the town, the officials and the delegation. They suggested that I start by concentrating on the human resource issue first by securing a more friendly FÁS operation for the town. I have done that.

Séamus Pattison (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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We must proceed to Question No. 142.

Photo of Séamus HealySéamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Is the Minister not aware that Carrick-on-Suir already has strengths? It is on the N24 and is within 15 miles of Waterford city and its airport. It is a fine town. It is tenable to demand that jobs be created in Carrick-on-Suir for at least some of the 960 people who have been unemployed there for the past ten years. There are more people unemployed in the town today than there were when this Government took office in 1997. I demand that the Minister establish a task force for Carrick-on-Suir and prioritise the town. I make no apology for doing so. It is unacceptable and untenable that this number of people remains unemployed in a town of the size of Carrick-on-Suir. The Minister should establish that task force immediately.

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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There is a county development board already in place on which——

Photo of Séamus HealySéamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)
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We want Government action.

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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——the industrial agencies are represented. There is no point re-inventing the wheel just for the optics and creating another task force. We do not propose to do so.

Photo of Séamus HealySéamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)
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There are 960 people out of work.