Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Our topic of discussion is the No. 1 issue in the country and I will speak on the solution to the problem.

Several people from Valentia and I published the Valentia Island Red Tape Report, which examined how bureaucracy was preventing job creation on the island. Expanding on this microcosm highlights the number of private sector jobs that the Government is preventing from being created. On Valentia Island, 72 full-time jobs, 42 short-term construction jobs and 25 seasonal jobs were being prevented by the Government. If the Government could cut the red tape, private enterprise could create jobs for those who need them badly.

I will give examples of the Government preventing job creation. A marina was proposed for the island. The breakwaters are in place, but the foreshore licensing process is too bureaucratic. The Foreshore (Amendment) Act 2011 does not outline the timelines necessary to allow people to go through a process and get results quickly. In one case in County Donegal, people have been trying to get a foreshore licence for four years. Galway County Council went ahead and installed a pipe because it could wait no longer for the Department to make up its mind.

Some 35 jobs are being held up because the foreshore licence in respect of the Valentia marina is not being sorted out. In one boat-yard, a boat builder wanted to expand his operation but was prevented from creating 20 jobs by bureaucracy because a man who had a holiday home in the locality objected. While this was the objector's right, in England and other jurisdictions one is only allowed to object if one is a full-time resident living within a certain distance of the site to which the planning application pertains. A man who lived in the area for a few months per year objected and prevented 20 people from being employed. The boat-yard lost out on its tender for constructing rigid inflatable boats, RIBs, for the Coast Guard. It could have built RIBs more cheaply than the Coast Guard, but the manufacturing job went to England. We were borrowing money from the IMF to build RIBs in England when we could have created five jobs at home. A hotel next to the marina wanted to expand but was told that it would not get planning permission because the infrastructure was not in place, that is, the sewage treatment system needed to be upgraded.

I will turn to more comical job creation issues. Someone wanted to install seaweed baths in an existing building, given that tourism is a major concern in County Kerry, but the person was refused permission. One of the grounds for refusal was that the building could be seen from Sleigh Head. I do not know whether the Minister of State has ever been to Sleigh Head near Dingle, but one would want very powerful binoculars to see Valentia Island, never mind the proposed seaweed baths. The objection was made by An Taisce and did the State no service. These were not reasonable grounds for objecting, but the Government believed it was a good idea to refuse permission to someone who would have created jobs.

Bureaucracy, red tape, licensing issues and delay after delay prevented from proceeding, an art gallery, a retail unit and a scallop fishing endeavour that would have created 15 jobs. In such situations, people eventually give up. They cannot deal with this level of bureaucracy. In a country that is starving for jobs and in the case of Valentia Island in particular, bureaucracy seems to be one of the greatest obstacles. Although we need systems, they must work and be transparent. As we all know from our constituents, they submit applications, provide the documents requested of them and, after the deadline has passed, are asked for even more, delaying the application process for months.

We have discussed Seanad reform. In light of our public consultation system, I suggest that organisations such as IBEC, the unions and those with an interest in creating jobs propose detailed, analysed legislation on how the Government can cut the red tape that is preventing job creation and ensure that people return to work.