Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State for coming before the House and I thank the Cathaoirleach for allowing me to raise this issue.

I am raising this issue in the hope that the Minister of State will give the assurances necessary to the community in Ballinasloe that the Government has better plans than those that are currently the subject of rumour in Ballinasloe in respect of the possible expansion of the Prisons Service to a site in Ballinasloe. It has been rumoured that personnel from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform may have been in Ballinasloe to inspect or assess the suitability or otherwise of premises owned by the Western Health Board which are to be vacated soon.

I do not need to tell the Minister of State about the situation in Ballinasloe in the past five to six years. The Government has failed to respond to the needs of the area by way of job creation following the closure of the flagship industry in County Galway, A. T Cross, which was followed in the recent past by the loss of 385 jobs at Square D. Nothing has happened, despite the fact that a task force, in which the Minister of State was participated, was established four or five years ago. More recently, a co-ordinated group of all statutory agencies, under the guidance of the county manager, Donal O'Donoghue, endeavoured to re-establish the positive environment in Ballinasloe for the setting up of a new worthwhile industry. Unfortunately, nothing has yet happened as a result of that effort, but it is hoped the position will change. During her last visit, the Tánaiste gave an assurance that the area would become a priority.

Time has now passed, the gates have closed at Square D, just as they did at A. T. Cross. It is difficult to envisage the arrival of a major industrial project to replace these industries in the near future. That is a tragedy for families and the economic environment in Ballinasloe. Ballinasloe has recently come under threat as a result of what might be contained in the Hanly report by way of the downgrading of Portiuncula Hospital. Regardless of our direction in the future, there is a threat which is too much to take for Ballinasloe.

The Tánaiste gave another undertaking that there would be no downgrading in Ballinasloe. A commitment was given that there would be decentralisation to the town. This would be fine if the promises came to fruition and were not just remarks made to people who were literally on their knees in search of hope. We all have hope and it would be wrong to indicate that there is no hope for the town and surrounding areas in regard to future development.