David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

I call on the Leader to provide time for a debate on balanced regional development. I do so in the context of figures published a number of weeks ago by the IDA and printed in a number of today's national newspapers. These figures, which are a breakdown of the number of IDA companies located in each county, the number of IDA supported jobs in each county and the amount of grant-aid paid to IDA supported companies in each county, have caused consternation in some counties. The Border and south-eastern counties, which have suffered huge job losses, have been badly serviced by the IDA. If one examines the county-by-county figures, one will see that at the same time there has been a huge drop in the amount of funding available through grant aid to certain counties. Some of the figures are amazing. For example, Carlow went for two years without receiving any grant support. For four of the past five years, not one single cent in grant aid was given to companies in Kilkenny. In Waterford, the number of grants was halved and the amount in grant aid available was reduced as a result. We must ensure the enterprise agencies are delivering for all the regions. There is little point in having regional offices, developing regional policies and discussing regional development when the figures indicate that areas such as the south east and the Border counties are not receiving their fair share. I ask the Leader to make time available for a debate on balanced regional development and to request the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to come before the House to take part in it. Let us ensure the enterprise agencies which are funded from taxpayers' money will give all areas a fair crack of the whip. The figures to which I refer clearly show that the south-east region and the Border counties have not received their fair share.