Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. This matter is in a similar vein, although it relates specifically to the regional Action Plan for Jobs for the Border area.

The Scottish poet Robert Burns said that the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. The Action Plan for Jobs appears to be not necessarily a plan so much as a type of framework to provide a template which will then be given to local bodies in the midlands to implement as a pilot scheme. In the regional Action Plan for Jobs, there are many references to the local enterprise offices, LEOs, which will implement the scheme, but they are significantly under-funded and not much focus has been put on how to resource them adequately. Figures that have been released - there was a "Prime Time" feature recently on investment - show that enterprise agencies are failing to support many parts of the country. Worryingly, the number of potential investor visits was reduced in 2014 from an already scarce base. A grossly uneven regional delivery of enterprise and jobs is magnifying the severe jobs crisis, and counties such as Cavan and Monaghan are suffering as a result.

Since 2008 there have been ten IDA Ireland-sponsored visits to Cavan, but only two to Monaghan. In addition, there have been 306 gross job losses in Cavan and 267 gross job losses in Monaghan. To compensate for that there have been only 193 gross job gains in Cavan and 108 gross job gains in Monaghan. There has been no investigation into why certain areas are losing more jobs than others, which should have been an important part of the regional plan. I would have liked to see such an investigation. Many counties are suffering disproportionately from the downturn, with unemployment and emigration rates that are far above the average. There is much discontent about the inaction of enterprise agencies in bringing potential investors to those areas. That has exacerbated regional disparities in employment. It is important that the enterprise agencies are directed to try to ameliorate some of these disparities and to get investment into those communities that are hardest hit by unemployment.

In the Department's press release accompanying the framework for the development of regional enterprise strategies it mentioned that €100 million in Enterprise Ireland funding is to be made available over five years through a series of competitive calls. The first tranche will be made available from 2015 and funding under these programmes will be allocated on a competitive basis, with most funds awarded to regional projects offering the best prospects for job creation. IDA Ireland will also roll out a five year €150 million capital investment programme to help attract more multinational jobs into each region.

My concern is that the regions with competitive advantages such as proximity to Dublin, other large urban areas or cities and regions that already have infrastructure in place will have better prospects for job creation in any case. What would the Enterprise Ireland funding do for the regions that have not had the best prospects to date? They might be disadvantaged through no fault of their own. Are they at risk of being left behind again? That is important with regard to the series of competitive calls and what is contained in the press release regarding the funding being allocated on a competitive basis. What criteria will be used? There is already a scarcity of IDA Ireland site visits to many areas, so what will both the IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland funding do for those areas if they have not been seen as attractive by the agencies for foreign investment to date?

The Taoiseach said at the launch that this is a plan to ensure that no part of Ireland is left behind in the jobs recovery. However, if the recovery is being based on some form of competition for funding, how will we help those areas that might lose out but that might need it most?