Seanad debates

Thursday, 19 February 2015

Commencement Matters

Action Plan for Jobs

10:30 am

Photo of Kathryn ReillyKathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein)
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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?

Photo of Gerald NashGerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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I thank Senator Reilly for the opportunity to discuss the recently launched Action Plan for Jobs on a regional basis. Last week we launched the framework of that strategy. After I leave the Seanad, I will meet the implementation group for the strategy. I can assure Senator Reilly that I will play a leading role in rolling out the Border plan. It very much affects my constituency of Louth and east Meath and I look forward to working together with Senator Reilly and others towards the mutual objective of sustainable job creation on a balanced basis right across the country.

The aim of the Action Plan for Jobs is to support enterprise growth and job creation in every region. Since the start of the Action Plan for Jobs process in 2012, employment nationally has increased by approximately 80,000. However, the economic recovery has progressed at a different pace across the regions. Unemployment across different regions remains above the national average, and this is the case for the Border region in general. This is why the Government is placing an increased emphasis on supporting economic recovery and jobs growth in the regions.

Vibrant and competitive regions are important, not only from an economic perspective but also from a societal point of view. Growing the economic base of regions supports social cohesion and provides opportunities, in particular, for young people to continue to live and work in their local communities. The 2015 Action Plan for Jobs includes a commitment to develop and publish a suite of regional enterprise strategies based on the strengths of each region, in consultation with key stakeholders. We will be having a series of meetings with stakeholders in the Border area over the next few weeks.

Last week, the Government announced details of the Action Plan for Jobs - Regional initiative which will seek to maximise the strengths and assets of each region to support enterprise growth and job creation. The objective is that six regional action plans, including one for the Border region, will be launched by July, with two remaining strategies in development at that stage. The purpose of the plans is to strengthen and develop regional collaboration by encouraging local authorities, regional bodies, higher education institutions, the private sector and communities to come forward with innovative ideas to boost job creation in their areas. The Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is currently in the process of finalising the regional action plan for the midlands. The plan has been developed in close consultation with local stakeholders in the area and this process will be replicated for all plans, including the regional action plan for the Border region. In that context, local entrepreneurs and business people will have an opportunity to provide inputs to the regional action plan for the Border region. The plan will include measures that can be taken to help the Border region to realise its economic potential. These will include a series of actions for delivery by the enterprise development agencies, Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland, and the local enterprise offices, together with the local authorities, other public sector bodies and the private sector to support enterprise growth and job creation in the region. We expect to identify measures in a number of sectors that are common to all regions, such as tourism, the food sector and skills, but we will also be working closely with the regions to identify measures specific to those particular regions aimed at boosting job creation. That is how that process will work.

I am pleased to note that year on year, from 2014 to 2015, there was a 12.77% decrease in the live register in Cavan and a 13.86% decrease in Monaghan. There is considerable work being done by the agencies in that part of the country. We all welcomed the announcement by Combilift in Monaghan only a couple of weeks ago of 200 new jobs in a spectacular indigenous Irish company that is well known throughout the world.

The way to address the regional disparities to which Senator Reilly refers is by carrying out a robust analysis, working with local stakeholders and identifying strengths in the area. I have said it before, and I will say it again, there is little point in having the Twenty-six Counties competing for the same type of foreign direct investment. We want to identify the strengths in the area and target investment, and target the focus of the State agencies on that basis.

Senator Reilly asked what Enterprise Ireland would do with regard to the competitive funds. Over the next few weeks, Enterprise Ireland will announce the framework for those funds. It is designed to identify what particular areas are good at and where local interests can align to work with Enterprise Ireland to develop facilities and ideas for job creation in those areas. The first of the calls will focus on community-driven enterprise initiatives and there will be a role for community interests, local chambers of commerce and local businesses in that. The second call will focus on new ideas emerging from the local enterprise offices. A third broader competitive regional call will support significant projects or initiatives to improve enterprise capability in the regions.

I am confident that the Border area, including the Cavan-Monaghan area, which Senator Reilly represents, will be well placed to attract considerable funding from Enterprise Ireland. Much of that, in terms of competitive calls, will turn on the ability of the local community to come together, to pool its resources with local authorities, third-level and further education institutes and other bodies to identify the priorities for that area so that it can work with Enterprise Ireland on a collaborative basis to attract as much funding as possible to develop as many sustainable jobs as it is possible to do in that particular area.