Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I would like to use my time in this House to best serve the people of Waterford who have been neglected for a decade in terms of industrial investment in the city and the region. Along with my fellow Waterford Deputies, I have the dubious honour of being the first person to use this new Topical Issues Debate. I use the word "dubious" because the news in Waterford over the past few weeks has been appalling. Some 575 people have lost their jobs in Talk Talk in Waterford in the past week and that is the critical issue up for debate this afternoon. Ironically, a company whose job it is to deal in telecommunications proved to do a spectacularly bad job at communicating this bad news to the Government and its workers.

Earlier this year we had more bad news in Waterford. GlaxoSmithKline, based in Dungarvan, is to lose 130 of its workers. In September 2009, Teva, the largest pharmaceutical company in the south east, let go 315 workers. Almost 500 jobs went in Waterford Crystal when the company went into receivership in 2009. The glass, as it is known locally, made the Waterford name a proud one and an international byword for quality and elegance and it employed almost 3,000 workers at its peak. Bausch & Lomb, an eye care company, announced 195 lay-offs in March 2009; I could go on.

Waterford has become an unemployment blackspot. Currently, more than 15,000 people are on the live register in Waterford; 2,500 of these are in the city alone. That is just not good enough and I intend to use my time in this House to fight for the people of Waterford and the south-east region. This crisis must be tackled. What will be done to tackle this jobs crisis Waterford currently faces?

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation for coming to Waterford at short notice to respond to the current crisis in the city. Deputies and public representatives from all parties and from none had ample opportunity to question the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, his officials and IDA officials on Monday last. Some of them chose not to stay at the meeting and asked only one question for 30 seconds or so.

The sudden announcement last Wednesday by Talk Talk has had a devastating impact on the city and the entire region. The treatment of the workers of Talk Talk demonstrated a lack of courtesy to the workers who have been loyal to it and to the State in which those workers live because the State has not had the opportunity or ample time to try to find alternative employment for that site. Unfortunately, the story has moved on and those workers are now left with the unenviable task of trying to seek employment or perhaps new courses or upskilling.

I point out to the Minister, the Dáil and the Government the fact that over the past five years, the live register figure in Waterford has increased from approximately 6,800 to 15,500. There is something fundamentally wrong with Government and IDA policy. The crisis Waterford is currently experiencing did not happen overnight. It is a result of continued neglect and lack of focus from the State agencies and past Governments.

Waterford and the south-east region need co-ordinated and specific attention. Waterford is a gateway city. It is a region with almost 500,000 people which does not have university. These are tangible facts that need to be addressed. What is needed is action by Government and a deep analysis as to why we have this unemployment crisis. The people of Waterford have spoken. They are worried and concerned. This problem could visit other regions quite easily and we need to stop it now while we can.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank the Deputies for raising this issue and I understand their sense of the huge blow this is for Waterford, in particular for the workers concerned. I was first informed of this decision on Wednesday, the day it was to be announced. I was dismayed, as was the IDA, at the way this was handled. In discussions with the CEO, local management and the representatives of head office in Waterford on Monday, I continued to press for a longer period because it is important not only for workers adjusting to it but also to give the IDA every chance to market this effectively as a going concern. A plant with workers and the skills they have built up is much more saleable while it is in operation than if it is closed.

I had a series of meetings with public representatives and business. I met the workers and the management and the city manager and business interests in Waterford on Monday. The message was very clear in that Waterford has not benefited from the advances in the good times and it has been badly affected in the more difficult times of late. On foot of that, I have instructed my agencies to put together an action plan for Waterford and the south east region to look at the areas they can intensify, at the way it is being supported and at the strengths and weaknesses of the area. That was reflected in the discussions I had with local representatives. There was a sense that there needed to be this sort of hard analysis as to why Waterford, with the strengths it has, not been more successful. That is the task I have set the agencies to complete within one month.

When that is done we will look afresh at what action can be taken and whether there are further, deeper issues which need to be assessed in some other way. I am determined to give Waterford the priority it correctly deserves. A casual view of the unemployment numbers and the history of industrial performance in recent times indicate that there are things which are wrong. I am addressing those and I am committed to having an effective action plan to address them.

There are issues of a long-term nature as well as things of a more short-term nature which we can address in the near term but we need to take a hard look at this to see how we can better support the enterprise sector in Waterford and set out the actions we can take in the near term and in the longer term.

Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank the Minister but I emphasise at this critical time for Waterford that talk, talk is not enough and that we need is action, action. The Minister said the agencies will come together. The programme for Government promised that 50% of IDA funding will focus on the areas outside Dublin. Will the Minister ensure that the south east and Waterford is the focus of that 50% of IDA funding in the future because talk is no longer enough? We must see action.

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I am aware the Cabinet discussed this matter and gave it very serious attention late last week. It is important the crisis in Waterford receives that type of attention. Waterford has a proud industrial and manufacturing past. It has a willing and an educated workforce and people who are resilient. They have shown this summer, through the Tall Ships Festival and many other good things, the positive contribution Waterford city and the south-east region can make as a gateway to this country.

It is important all Departments are instructed by Cabinet to respond to this crisis. It is not only the job of the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. Waterford is located in the heart of the south-east region which has huge potential from an agriculture and agrifood perspective. As Ireland's oldest city, it has great tourism potential, so the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport has a part to play, as do all Ministers.

This type of focus must remain even after the hype, some of which we saw today, and the media attention die down. A concentrated, focused effort with real and tangible action is needed for the workers and the people of Waterford and the south-east region in the years ahead.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I acknowledge the support of Cabinet colleagues. The Minister for Social Protection responded immediately and staff from the Department have been in Talk Talk during the week and, indeed, were there last week. The Minister for Education and Skills also responded immediately and the support of FÁS for the workers is in place. In addition, the Minister for Education and Skills indicated that work on the proposal for a technological university, which is to be explored as part of the programme for Government, is being accelerated. Clear criteria will be developed for that opportunity, which arose in discussions. We need immediate action in the enterprise domain, but I also recognise that this assessment of strengths and weaknesses will throw up issues that are relevant for other Departments. On foot of that, I will bring to the attention of other Departments areas of action that have the potential to assist.

I accept that IDA Ireland has been meeting its target for 50% of activity outside Dublin but, for whatever reason, Waterford has not been doing as well as other regions outside the capital. I acknowledge there is an issue as to why Waterford, despite its offerings - and it has significant strengths - is not performing as well. That is why it is important to examine this matter to see what items we can correct in the short term to enhance that performance. It is our ambition to see Waterford doing better both from overseas investment and indigenous companies. We need to create an engine of indigenous growth in this country. Some 14 years after being in the Department, I am disappointed to see that the indigenous sector's contribution to our exports has not been enhanced in that time. We must re-examine the weaknesses in that regard.