John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I want to be clear at the outset as to why I am raising the sale of nine lots in a quarry portfolio in counties Carlow and Wicklow. I am doing so on behalf of the people I represent. Over 100 families are employed by the company concerned. I ask the Government to intervene with a bank which is owned by the taxpayer, AIB, to ensure the sale will not go ahead or that it will not go ahead without discussing the matter with the Morrisseys, the family who own the lots. A lot is riding on the sale. Some 100 jobs are in the balance, as well as what they contribute to the local economy. The sale will also have an impact on the marketplace because there are three super players in the quarry industry in this country who control everything. A previous quarry sale resulted in the closure of viable entities. As a result, there were job losses and a lack of competition in the market. If Morrisseys is not kept in the market, there will be job losses and a further deterioration in the level of competition in Ireland. The company supplies most of the county councils in the south east. It has a 100-year record and worked with AIB while in receivership, fulfilling almost €3 million worth of contracts in the course of the receivership. It has an excellent record with AIB, yet it is being forced into a public sale. Instead of this, AIB could very easily get value for the sale which involves a sum in the region of €4.6 million by selling properties directly to the Morrisseys who currently own the quarries. There would be no loser if the sale was conducted in that way. The bank would achieve value for money. The money would be raised privately and not involve AIB money. The 100 jobs and competitiveness in the marketplace would be maintained and it would ensure a company which has worked for 100 years in the local community was kept in business.

If we can do anything through a bank which is owned by taxpayers, this is one step we could take to show the people of Ireland that we are interested in their plight and attempting to save jobs and indigenous businesses. It is one action the Government could take to show that it is interested. That action should be taken by the Minister for Finance today. He should contact AIB and instruct it to hold off on any sale until it negotiates with the current occupiers of the quarries, the Morrisseys. In terms of the impact on the local economy should the quarries be closed, separate from the level of competition in the market, 100 families will be affected. The suppliers of goods and services to these quarries will also be affected. If we have an interest in rural Ireland, this is the time to stand up.

In its advertising, AIB states it is "backing brave". Let it back the brave who spent 100 years building a company and worked with it during receivership, kept jobs and fulfilled contracts. Let it back the brave who are still willing to work with AIB, using their money, and allow them to stay in business. That is the challenge for the Government if it wants to save jobs and continue what is a very successful business, notwithstanding the effects of the downturn.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. As a local Deputy, I can understand the situation. My constituency, Clare, faced a similar situation a few years ago when a major quarry and concrete company closed. We know the devastation caused on a personal basis, as the Deputy outlined, for the many families concerned.

The company was established in the 1930s and was a major supplier to the construction industry during the boom. It went into receivership in June 2014 owing debts to AIB. The company had an interim examiner appointed shortly afterwards but was subsequently placed back into receivership.

I am aware that a number of the quarries owned by Dan Morrissey Ireland Limited are due to go to public auction shortly on the instructions of the joint receivers, as the Deputy outlined. I understand Enterprise Ireland had limited engagement with the company. In 2007 the agency paid it a €4,500 environment management grant. Although Enterprise Ireland does not fund companies to assist them to trade on the domestic market, its potential exporters division was in contact with the company to discuss exporting options and understands it was not exporting. The agency, therefore, was not in a position to assist further.

Supporting enterprise development in all regions of the country to support job creation is a key objective of the Government, with initiatives such as the regional Action Plans for Jobs seeking to build on the capabilities and strengths of each region to maximise enterprise growth and job creation. The regional action plan initiative is working to promote regional and rural job creation by bringing different stakeholders in each of the eight regions together to identify innovative and practical actions to be taken across a range of Departments and agencies. The success of this project is crucial to the Government’s ambition to create an additional 200,000 jobs, 135,000 of which would be outside Dublin, by 2020. The most recent quarter 2 2017 figures from the CSO also show that over 80% of all jobs created in the previous year were created outside Dublin. The enterprise agencies are making a significant contribution to employment in the regions. Some 61% of new jobs created by Enterprise Ireland firms in 2016 were outside Dublin, while 52% of new jobs by IDA Ireland firms in 2016 were outside Dublin.

The south-east plan which covers the area under discussion is the key policy response for supporting employment growth in the south-east region, with public and private stakeholders actively engaged in delivering a range of innovative and practical actions set out in the plan. The core objective of the plan is to create a further 25,000 jobs in the region by 2020 in the counties of Carlow, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford and reduce the unemployment rate to within 1% of the State average. Sectors targeted as part of the plan include traditionally strong sectors for the region such as agrifood, manufacturing, engineering and tourism. Key targets include a 30% to 40% increase in investments by overseas companies in the region by 2019. The first two progress reports on the implementation of the south-east plan show that good progress continues to be made in implementing the actions. Some 13,000 jobs have been created in the south east since the regional Action Plans for Jobs initiative was launched in January 2015. In addition, the unemployment rate in the south east fell from 12.8% in 2015 to 8.1% by quarter 2 of 2017. Numbers on the live register in County Carlow have fallen by 1,538, or 29%, in the past two years. However, there is still work to be done. The unemployment rate in the south east is still over one percentage point higher than the quarter 2 national average of 6.4%. The enterprise development agencies will continue to make every effort they can to develop new employment opportunities in the region.

Carlow is home to seven IDA Ireland clients which, between them, employ just over 800 people in a range of manufacturing and service operations. Enterprise Ireland has 85 client companies based in Carlow which created 373 jobs in 2016, bringing total employment by Enterprise Ireland clients in Carlow to 2,973. I referred to some of the Deputy's questions in my reply.

Deputy John McGuinness:The Minister of State has not answered my questions. He has studiously avoided every single point I have made on behalf of Morrisseys and the 100 jobs which are at stake. He has ignored everything I have said and the letters written to the Minister for Finance, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, and AIB. It is disgraceful that he would come into the House with no facts or figures and make no effort to explain whether he will contact AIB, ask it to stop the sale on behalf of the taxpayer and protect the jobs which are at risk. He never mentioned the Morrisseys, the offers made or whether he would intervene.

That shows complete disrespect for this House and its Members. The job of the Ceann Comhairle is to protect the interests of the Members but the Minister of State has not answered the question. I ask the Leas-Cheann Comhairle to insist that the Minister of State, either now or at some other stage today, provides the answer to the questions asked.

This is why people are so cynical about politics. The Minister of State refuses to discuss the issue at heart while I have cut to the chase and gave the facts. I ask the Minister of State again if he will tell the bank, which this country owns, to stop the sale of this quarry and protect the 100 jobs and competition in the market. Today the Minister of State is ignoring not just the plight of my constituents but the issue at hand. There are three superpowers in this country that own all the quarries and they dictate the price of the product; it is a cartel. The Minister of State has addressed none of this. He has expressed sympathy and said he knows about this because of his experience in Clare. Why did he not do something with that experience and at least give the facts asked of him instead of reading this drivel into the record? He is ignoring a fair attempt on my behalf to put a request that it is absolutely necessary for the Minister of State to address. Stop this sale through AIB to a super group that will result in the loss of jobs and have an effect on 100 families. It is a disgraceful answer.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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It is not a disgraceful answer. I said I would deal with some of the matters raised in the second part of my contribution. I have had to deal with the overall picture as well. I listened attentively to the Deputy's comments about what is happening in Carlow and again I say that I sympathise with the plight. This was only brought to my attention this afternoon and I tried to get as much information as I could in the limited amount of time available. I am prepared to take on board what has been said by the Deputy and relate those concerns to the powers that be. The Deputy's contribution is fair but the accusations against me-----

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State is "the powers that be".

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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It is very unfair. I said this afternoon I am prepared to listen to the Deputy's concerns and convey them to the relevant people. We know some of the plants are going for public auction. It is not for me to decide who will buy those plants, whether they are new or existing owners. I sympathise with the Morrissey family and I have made that quite clear. They are in business since 1930 and know it inside out. Something clearly went wrong in the company over the years as it went into examinership and then it was put back into receivership again. I will not comment on it further except to say I will convey the Deputy's deep concerns as he has outlined them this evening. As a Minister of State with responsibility for trade and business, I will do that. The most important action is to try to ensure the families remain employed. There is an upturn in the economy and there will be a demand for construction, quarrying and concrete products throughout the regions. Let us wait and see what happens. Rather than personally attacking us this evening, the Deputy should see what happens. I will convey his concerns.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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The sale is next Saturday and sympathy does not cut it.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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The sale is next Saturday and he has raised the matter on Wednesday afternoon.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister knew about it last week. The Minister of State should take action rather than speaking words that mean nothing to anybody. It is disgraceful.