Lorraine Higgins (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his detailed response on the efforts being made by the Government and the Department in trying to improve job creation in County Galway, and I welcome the fact that ALS remains committed to the area. I hope that as a consequence of an expected upturn in the world economy, more job opportunities will be created in the town.

There is one caveat and we cannot put every egg in one basket. I accept that the macro picture is very important and I fully support what the Government is doing but perhaps more engagement is necessary on the ground. In particular, a number of good enterprise committees are operating, including the Loughrea enterprise committee, and they are seeking development opportunities around the area that will support further job creation measures. Perhaps we could see a scenario where Enterprise Ireland and the IDA could liaise with these people and move to the next level by bringing jobs to the people of east Galway and specifically Loughrea.