Dáil debates

Wednesday, 22 June 2016

Topical Issue Debate

Unemployment Levels

3:45 pm

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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I raised this issue in response to the Central Statistics Office quarterly household survey figures on unemployment, which show the unemployment rate in the south east is at 12.5%, compared with a rate of 8.4% nationally. The Minister may be aware that in 2013, as a Senator and a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, I was a rapporteur for a report called the South East Economic Development Strategy. I worked with the Minister of State, Deputy English, who has just left the Chamber and who was the Chairman of the joint committee at the time. It was an all-party report that made a number of key recommendations that must be acted upon if the south-east region is to be given the tools and ability to create the jobs it can create.

However, I also wish to draw the Minister's attention to a report published in June 2016 by a number of academics in Waterford Institute of Technology called the South East Economic Monitor. It states the south east has experienced improved consumer and business sentiment, which the authors welcome, but goes on to state that "when compared to national economic performance, and peer regions in Ireland, the data illustrates how the South East’s economy continues to be characterised by persistently high levels of unemployment, deprivation and ... lower job quality". It then refers to two datapoints which explain why this might be the case, namely, low educational attainment and low higher education capacity within the region, as well as the lack of new IDA-supported jobs over the past 25 years of a kind that have built greater capacity in other regions. This may be one reason they are performing better at present. The report continues by stating that in Waterford and the south east, the recession really kicked in in 2002 and was exacerbated by the national recession, which hit in 2007. The key figures in that report are similar to the type of issues I encountered when I did my work in 2012, during which time I engaged in many meetings right across the south-east region with stakeholders. These issues include 14 years of stagnation, 7,260 missing higher education places, 6,312 missing IDA-supported jobs in the south east, had it been given the same level of input from the IDA as were other regions, as well as low-quality jobs that are replacing high-quality jobs which were lost. All these pointers demonstrate real structural problems in the economy of the south east. Consequently, a number of measures are necessary, the first of which is the enterprise agencies tasked with creating jobs across the State must take a more regional approach. This does not appear to be the case in the south east. While there have been some improvements in recent years, a great deal more work must be done. Consequently, the IDA and Enterprise Ireland must step up to the plate for the south east. Figures and facts do not lie and the region simply is not getting enough of those jobs to support real economic improvement.

A joined-up strategy also is required and I had a meeting recently with the president of Waterford Institute of Technology, who spoke of the lack of a joined-up approach between the Government's regional job strategy and the institute's capital investment needs, such as the need for an engineering block and increased capacity in the laboratories to make sure it can meet the needs in this respect. As the Minister is aware, the university is a critical issue.

Finally, I received an answer to a parliamentary question to the Minister, Deputy Ross, in respect of the airport. One promise made as part of the programme for Government was an extension to the runway at the airport, which has been sold by a number of local Deputies who state they had it included in the aforementioned programme. However, in response to the parliamentary question, the Minister stated:

Development projects at the airports which are designed to expand capacity are a commercial matter for the airports themselves. In the case of the proposed runway extension at Waterford, I understand that the airport authorities are pursuing local interests for funding in relation to that project.

On reading that response, it does not seem to me as though millions of euro are being made available to Waterford Airport. The Minister might be able to respond to some of those issues, if possible, but the general issue is the high levels of unemployment.

Photo of Mary Mitchell O'ConnorMary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy and acknowledge he has raised this matter with me a number of times. It also has been raised on the floor of this House. I am aware the economic crisis hit job numbers in the south east badly, with the loss of 37,800 jobs between 2007 and 2012. However, through the focused collaborative approach and a range of reforms delivered in the region in recent years, the unemployment rate has fallen from a peak of 20.1% in 2012 to approximately 12.5% in early 2016. Although it has fallen and is down at 12.6%, I am aware it remains above the national average and the Government must work on that. At present, 204,400 people are at work in the south-east region, which is an increase of 23,100 over the period from 2012 to 2016. Over the past three years, employment growth in the region has increased at a faster pace than the national rate of increase. While the current unemployment rate in the south east still is too high, these figures demonstrate the overall trend is one of steady recovery.

I will work relentlessly with the various agencies and stakeholders in the region to ensure this trend continues and that jobs continue to be created. The regional action plans for jobs initiative for the south east and the other seven regions is a concrete example of the targeted approach the Government is undertaking boost regional employment. The core objective of the plan is to have a further 25,000 people at work in the south-east region by 2020. The plan is being monitored and driven by an implementation committee comprising representatives from the enterprise sector, the local authority, the enterprise agencies and other public bodies in the region. The south-east regional plan contains several key actions that will be delivered over the period from 2015 to 2017. These include completing the construction of the new technology and industrial buildings in Waterford and Carlow, establishing the new regional skills forum, developing the world-leading sectoral clusters and ecosystems and continuing the development of the technological university in the south east. I intend to visit the region to meet stakeholders and the Deputy, please God, to ensure plans are being implemented in the region. I expect the first progress report of the south-east plan to be published in the third quarter of this year.

The implementation of the regional plans is being supported by a fund of €250 million to be provided to Enterprise Ireland and the IDA. On 1 June, I announced an initial allocation of €5 million in competitive funding for 48 local and regional initiatives under two competitive calls, the first being the local enterprise office, LEO, competitive fund and the second being the community enterprise initiative. In the south-east region, six projects involving LEOs were successful under the LEO competitive fund and a further four projects were successful under the community enterprise initiative. On a national level, I remain committed to growing employment through the 2016 national Action Plan for Jobs process now and in its fifth iteration. I will continue to work with the enterprise agencies to ensure targeted actions are taken to improve the employment and enterprise environment in the region.

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the Minister's response and her intention to visit the south-east region. I, of course, will take up the opportunity to meet her when she visits and I hope she will have good meetings with stakeholders across the region. I also wish to take the opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of her predecessor, Deputy Bruton, who, to be fair, shone a spotlight on the south-east region and chaired an action group that has made some difference. I acknowledge this and am not being negative in respect of the Government's approach. However, the Minister's response acknowledges we have real structural problems in the region that must be addressed. While the unemployment figures have fallen marginally ahead of the national figures, they are pretty much in line with where the national decline was and consequently, there still is a massive 4% gap between the national figure and the regional figure. The gap is huge and cannot be underestimated for real people who are out of work and for whom jobs are not there. There is an unemployment rate of less than 7% in Dublin but yet the equivalent rate in the south east is 12.5%. Moreover, it is much higher in some parts of my constituency of Waterford where there are unemployment black spots even within a region that is suffering. Consequently, I appeal to the Minister to engage with the enterprise agencies first and foremost and to work collaboratively with other Ministers. She should work with the Minister for Education and Skills to ensure the region gets the university it needs and with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, on the transport issue to deal with funding for the airport and on other measures.

If the Minister gets the opportunity at some point to read the south east economic development strategy, she will see many of the recommendations made which are practical, realistic, sensible, deliverable and will make a difference as they have not yet been implemented. They could form part of a revised jobs action plan for the region.

3:55 pm

Photo of Mary Mitchell O'ConnorMary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I will be visiting the Deputy's constituency and I hope to meet him there along with other Oireachtas Members. I have been in touch with the regional director who has been specifically appointed there. She is Ms Anne-Marie Tierney-Le Roux. She was appointed in January 2015. I know that the Cork IDA Ireland office was managing the south east. She has assured me that the south east is definitely on IDA Ireland's radar. Waterford is being actively marketed to FDIs. I think it was about two weeks ago that I was reading the report by Dr. Ray Griffin and Dr. Cormac O'Keeffe. It was about the specific issues in Waterford. On the same day, the good news came through, as I am sure the Deputy is aware, that 160 jobs were announced-----

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Eurofins.

Photo of Mary Mitchell O'ConnorMary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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-----over five years for the bioanalytical company, Eurofins, in Dungarvan. The solution to the problem is to make sure that jobs come into the area. The Deputy has made very fine points that the area is above the national average, and even in parts of his own constituency it is way above that again. I will be making sure that happens.

If the Deputy does not mind, I wish to mention exactly what is happening on the implementation group that is there. The implementation group is made up of people from the local authorities, an industrial ambassador, Enterprise Ireland, the local enterprise offices, interested stakeholders and IDA Ireland. They are all at the table. If the Deputy is aware of empty office space, he should feed that information into that implementation group. The more information that we have on the ground from the stakeholders in the area, the better and the easier it is.

As the Minister, while it is great having IDA Ireland coming in with hundreds of jobs as well as Enterprise Ireland, I am also very conscious of the small businesses that want to flourish and need to be supported. For those who want to start their businesses, it is also important that there are supports in place.