Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Killeen, to the House to discuss this matter which is of importance to him, myself and Senator Daly. My comments are directed at the Minister, Deputy Martin, in terms of his role in job creation in County Clare.

We all learned with sadness in the past few days that Microsemi, an excellent employer on the Gort Road industrial estate in Ennis, had announced that it would no longer be able to sustain the level of production jobs it had in place. However, it indicated it would continue with its sales and marketing efforts from a European perspective and would consolidate its efforts based on production capacity in other plants and jurisdictions.

This was particularly bad news for Ennis at this time. Over the past years we have seen a number of companies go out of business in the region and in no real way have we seen replacement jobs in line with the growth in the population. The Minister of State knows this since he has been involved for much longer than me in terms of encouraging businesses to remain or locate in the area, something it is important to continue. Ennis is growing at a rapid rate and in order that it is not left behind as a dormitory town it is critical that the Minister puts in place an action plan coordinating the efforts of the IDA Ireland, Shannon Development and Enterprise Ireland. This will ensure that people who have decided to live in the area can work in their own communities and that their area does not become part of a commuter town. It is critical that we consider whatever measures can be put in place.

I welcome the announcement today by the Minister of State regarding developments at Shannon and a potential 1,500 jobs in the not too distant future. However, we need to concentrate our efforts on the town of Ennis. The fact that the town does not have a large rate base to develop services and facilities a growing town the size of Ennis needs has an impact on development and job creation. The Minister of State is well aware of this. It is important that the Minister puts in place the necessary forum to ensure we advance this proposal.