Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am sure Senator Reilly might want to respond to that all right. We are happy to support this Bill. The solid work of the IDA in many places across the State should be acknowledged, as this Bill is primarily about its functions and powers. I hope that performance can continue and that this Bill will help to provide the tools to achieve that. If it does, that is a good thing. My party has continually highlighted the need for efforts to locate FDI companies and jobs in rural areas and regional Ireland. I know the Minister represents a Border and rural community herself.

It is also important to get more jobs to the regions, especially FDI jobs. Our analysis indicates that some areas are still faring very poorly on this front. The ratio of local FDI jobs to population is, not surprisingly, best in Dublin with one IDA-backed job for every 15 citizens. In my home county of Donegal there has been some progress in recent years. We have discussed this before in this Chamber and, as I said, the Minister represents a Border county so she understands the issues well and the particular impact of partition on our communities around the Border area. We have to challenge the IDA and Enterprise Ireland to do more.

In Donegal, we have been fortunate in that we have successful companies like Pramerica and Optum. They have created two thirds of the existing FDI jobs in Donegal and huge numbers between the two of them. I will, however, take the Minister back to 20 years ago. It is important that we put things in context. We had a Donegal employment initiative 20 years ago and it reflected the collapse of the textile industry in our region at that time. We had a task force chaired by Mr. Michael McLoone, a former chief executive of Beaumont Hospital, but more importantly, from a Donegal perspective, he was the county manager. He was a very capable public servant who is now retired. That task force at that time put in place job creation targets of about 5,000 over the next seven years. It reflected the post Good Friday Agreement and what was seen as a period of hope, so that was a reasonable target.

The reason those targets were set is important. It was to allow Donegal to catch up with FDI levels across the State. As we sit here today, 20 years later, we have gained 500 jobs in net terms. Over that same period there has been an increase in jobs in IDA supported companies of about 50%. That is a solid performance and the IDA does a good job for our country overall. However, in Donegal it is about 18% growth, due mainly to Pramerica and Optum. While I think the IDA has done a good job supporting those companies, which are great, and it works very well with Letterkenny Institute of Technology, LYIT, it is not enough.

There needs to be a special focus on Donegal and particularly now with the threat of Brexit. We are very concerned. It is a mixed bag and I have to report that to the Minister. I would not be doing my constituents any favours if I came in here and gave the Minister a false impression of the situation in the county. I appreciate her sincerity and also her understanding of the issues as she comes from a Border county herself. We have a good chance with her being in that portfolio and she has my goodwill and support but more needs to done to bring new companies.

Last year there were only two site visits in Donegal. This year there have been none so far. My concern is that we are not following up on Pramerica and Optum and saying that Donegal is a place to do business. Pramerica is a great story. About 20 years ago, it had about 18 or 19, mostly local, people. Working with partners in the United States, it has developed today to have about 1,800 people of all nationalities. It is a really superb company, a great story and a great way to market Donegal as a place to do business. I hold it up and offer it to the Minister as an example. Regarding the specifics of the Bill, section 4 sets out that an immediate use and existing tenant is not required for the IDA to purchase land. This is fair as the decision by companies who locate here can be sudden and they require lands immediately, so only permitting the purchase and development of land when a company is waiting to locate here would not be feasible due to delays and could jeopardise the investment.

Section 5 sets out that lands acquired compulsorily may only be leased and not sold. This is appropriate given how the lands would have been obtained by a CPO.

Section 6 sets out in detail the new compulsory purchasing power to be exercised only by the IDA and outlines that such powers may only be used to compulsorily purchase land where an industrial undertaking has been identified. This section also adapts and applies provisions of the Housing Act 1966 to give the IDA compulsory acquisition powers on par with those of a housing authority.

Section 7 gives An Bord Pleanála powers to assess and, if necessary, confirm compulsory purchases by the IDA. This is also a good check on the new powers to be bestowed on the IDA to ensure they are exercised as envisaged. However, we only want a CPO to be used by the IDA in exceptional circumstances when no other options are available and as a last resort. There is a balance here between private landowners' rights and the public good. A fine balance must be achieved to ensure land and property-owners are not adversely affected in the pursuit of suitable sites for multinational companies.

The Minister of State, Deputy Breen, on Committee Stage of the Bill in the Dáil said he would consider the points my party raised about what would happen if land was subject to a CPO but for some reason the use for the land fell through. Would there be an option for the land to be sold back to the landowner for the same value? That is something for the Minister to respond to. I will take the opportunity to acknowledge the important work of the IDA, which has been successful throughout the State in attracting jobs. It has done a good job overall for the State in attracting jobs. We need to focus on getting more of these jobs to the regions, which will require a greater investment in infrastructure by Government, including in my county of Donegal. Otherwise we are happy to support the Bill. I thank the Minister again for her time.