Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate this opportunity to raise this important matter on the Adjournment. Last Friday's announcement by Magee's of Donegal town that it will cease production of its clothing manufacturing unit with the loss of 60 jobs is but the latest in a long litany of such announcements throughout Donegal in recent times.

Last August the town received a major body blow when Hospira announced its closure with the loss of 560 jobs. Within a number of months a small town is losing more than 600 jobs. Surely it must be evident to all, even to the Minister and the Government, the devastation, human misery and suffering that is being inflicted on the employees and their families, not to mention the other businesses and services in the region.

I pay tribute to Magee's and its employment record in Donegal town which dates back almost 150 years. This was and still is a family friendly orientated industry in every sense of the word. Many generations of the same families were employed in it and looked upon their co-workers as almost family members. The imminent closure of its clothing manufacturing unit is entirely due to the astronomically escalating costs, including rates, labour, energy and insurance. Together they became an almost impossible financial burden on the company and the Government must accept a major share of the blame for allowing these overheads to get out of control.

What is happening in Donegal town at present has been happening in many other parts of County Donegal in recent years. Between 1997 and 2004 Donegal lost almost 6,500 jobs in IDA supported industries. These figures do not include Hospira, Magee's, Unifi in Letterkenny or the thousand or more job losses in Údarás na Gaeltachta aided industries.

One can justifiably say that since 1997 total job losses in Donegal must be verging on the astronomical total of 9,000 to 10,000, and that is a conservative figure. The list of closures and job losses is almost endless and includes: Donegal Rubber Company in Ballyshannon; Hospira and Magee's in Donegal town; Herdsmans and Nena Models in Ballybofey-Stranorlar; and Fruit of the Loom in Buncrana, Malin, Raphoe, Milford and Dungloe. Killybegs is almost a ghost town due to the depression in the fishing industry and Gweedore industrial estate in my parish once the jewel in the crown of Údarás na Gaeltachta is but a pale shadow of its former glory.

It is no exaggeration to state that Donegal is being turned into an industrial wasteland. Our industrial base is being completely eroded and that is causing an exodus of our young people from the county.

It is now almost three years since more than 400 decentralised jobs were promised to the county. Since then little or no progress has been achieved, and it could be another five or six years before these jobs are located in Donegal. Surely the recent spate of job losses will at least expedite the process of decentralisation to the county. It is true that we have task forces, plans and promises but no jobs have been created to replace what we have lost.

Donegal town and the county has much to offer and I compliment Donegal Town Community Chamber Limited in that respect. It has responded positively to the crisis in the town outlining the many advantages for businesses to locate there, including health services, child care facilities, educational services, competitive house prices, easy access by air and road and the availability of an educated and skilled workforce.

Donegal has given the Government more support than any other county. There are six Deputies in the county and five support the Government on a daily basis — that number would probably more than equal the number of Deputies supporting the Government in the Acting Chairman's county. That is tremendous support in any language, well in excess of 80%. However, that loyalty and support has not been reciprocated by the Government. Donegal has been taken for granted.

The economy of Donegal is over-dependent on the construction industry. Any downturn in that sector would trigger an economic freefall. I ask the Government to recognise the needs of the county and to act before it is too late. What we need is more action and jobs, not plans and platitudes. Radical action is urgently required.

Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I am glad to hear the Fine Gael Deputy is supportive of the decentralisation process.

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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The question is will it ever happen.

Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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It is happening.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter on the Adjournment. It has also been brought to our attention by the Minister, Deputy Coughlan, and the Minister of State, Deputy Gallagher. There is a united front in Donegal South-West on this matter.

I learnt with grave disappointment of the recent decision by Magee Clothing Limited to cease manufacturing at its Donegal facility in 2007 with the loss of 60 jobs. The Magee company has been one that is synonymous with good quality suits and other clothing and it is a pity to see it go out of existence.

Approximately 50 jobs will be retained within Magee Clothing Limited together with 60 in Magee Weaving and 45 in the Magee shops. Enterprise Ireland is continuing to work with the company to secure its future development and is supporting a strategic review of the business due to take place in the next month.

The role of FÁS, the State training agency, will be particularly important in assisting those who are to lose their jobs. It has already been in contact with the company and will provide advice and training opportunities for the employees being made redundant. FÁS will make its full range of services available to the workers, which include top level agreement with the company on responsibilities and actions; intensive interviews, individually and in groups, with affected workers that will outline the range of supports and services available; preparation of a skills analysis report by FÁS based on identified workers' needs and local opportunities; referral of affected workers to jobs, training courses or other opportunities; the establishment of special or customised training courses where necessary; and ongoing support and action to keep redundant workers in touch with the labour market.

In the period 1999 to 2004, total new jobs created in IDA supported companies in the north west amounted to 3,286. Since 1999, total employment in overseas firms in counties Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim has risen by more than 6% to approximately 6,000 persons in 2004. IDA Ireland estimates that indirect employment would be at least comparable to this figure, if not higher. The agency will continue its efforts to attract new foreign direct investment into the region.

Enterprise Ireland is also playing its part. The agency is intensifying its efforts to assist existing, established client companies in Donegal through the provision of both financial and non-financial services. These include assistance to increase sales and support export development through its network of 33 overseas offices worldwide. It is also supporting research and development and harnessing the expertise within third level colleges while providing preferential funding for companies planning to expand their business in the BMW region. From 2004 to end 2005 Enterprise Ireland approved almost €4 million to client companies in County Donegal.

Enterprise Ireland has also introduced a new programme called Enterprise Start aimed at people considering a career move who would like to learn more about starting their own business. This programme is a joint venture between Enterprise Ireland and FÁS and has been designed to address the gap in provision of training for those mainly, though not exclusively, in employment seeking training in how to start a new enterprise. The programme has been rolled out in Sligo and will commence in Letterkenny in March 2006.

There have been significant job announcements in Donegal recently with over 210 new jobs announced in September 2005 by Zeus Industrial Products in Letterkenny and PowerBoard in Burnfoot. These projects are being supported by IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, respectively. These projects were in addition to 423 jobs which my colleague, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Martin, announced earlier this year for the north west.

The State development agencies, IDA Ireland, Enterprise lreland, FÁS and Donegal County Enterprise Board, are fully committed to supporting and promoting job creation and job retention in Donegal. In addition to recent job announcements, this commitment is also demonstrated through the ongoing development and support by the agencies for a number of business parks and enterprise centres in Donegal. These include the completion of the IDA Ireland Letterkenny business park, the provision of a 25,000 sq. ft. advance office building at Windyhall and the work under way on the development of technology units and two new additional advance office buildings.

Planning permission has been obtained for a new facility at Ballyshannon where IDA Ireland has undertaken a significant amount of site development work recently. In Donegal town, work is under way on the design of a 1,500 sq. m. advance office and the upgrading of the estate at Lurganbuoy. This design will be lodged for planning permission at an early date. In Buncrana a new extension to the estate has been developed and planning permission has been obtained for a 2,000 sq. m. factory. IDA Ireland is working with a local private developer in the provision of a manufacturing facility and an office building on the estate.

In addition to providing support for nine community enterprise centres in Donegal, Enterprise Ireland has provided substantial support for the expansion of the Letterkenny Institute of Technology business development centre.

There have been significant job losses in Donegal in recent years, particularly in traditional sectors such as textiles and clothing. The Minister, Deputy Martin, has visited Donegal twice since becoming Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and has met many groups and companies on these visits. His colleagues in Government also recognise the particular difficulties in Donegal and will work together to assist in improving the overall environment to increase the attractiveness of Donegal as a location for enterprises. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment established an interdepartmental group on Donegal which is chaired by the Secretary General of his Department and it held its first meeting in November last.

Support for job retention and creation in Donegal will continue to remain a high priority for the Government.