Seanad debates

Thursday, 19 February 2015

10:30 am

Photo of Paddy BurkePaddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Nash, to the House.

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach, Senator Reilly and the Minister of State for their co-operation. I tabled this matter to discuss with the Minister of State the jobs situation in Waterford and the south east. Specifically, I wanted the breakdown of the jobs created and lost in IDA and Enterprise Ireland companies in Waterford.

Some progress has been made in recent years and a spotlight has been shone, not just on Waterford, but also on the south east by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. It is welcome that we have had some positive announcements, employment figures have increased and unemployment figures have decreased. We have gone from being the region with the highest level of unemployment to the region with the second highest. Obviously, there has been some improvement and good work has been done, but a great deal more needs to be done.

I wish to the bring the Minister of State's attention to a report that I published for the joint committee in September 2013, entitled "South East Economic Development Strategy", or the SEED strategy. It called for the implementation of a long-term economic development strategy that would support a new model for the region based on sustainability, meeting the needs of enterprise and an alignment of national, regional and county objectives to ensure that all of the actors were working to a single strategy that considered the strengths of the region and the opportunities for job creation and retention.

The strategy also called for the establishment of a regional IDA office and director. I commend the fact that we now have a regional director. It is a step in the right direction, but it must be underpinned by a regional strategy focused on resources and playing to strengths. The strategy called for the south east to have the same IDA investment aid as the BMW region as part of a change in the regional aid guidelines. I welcome that this has been done.

A crucial element in the strategy is the need for a university. While this is not directly the Minister of State's brief, it has a major impact on the ability of the south east to sustain itself economically, to take advantage of any upturn and the excellent research and development capacity in the region, and to build on same, thereby creating new jobs.

The strategy also called for investment in the roll-out of fibre network broadband in the region, but that has not happened, and investment in the airport, of which there has been some but not enough.

I have been constructive in making proposals instead of just saying that we have a problem. I want to be a part of the solution, as we should be as public representatives. I appreciate the fact that a spotlight has been shone on the region, that the Government is focused on improving the situation and that a collaborative approach has been taken by Oireachtas Members from Waterford to the creation and retention of as many jobs as possible. Good work has been done, but it is now a matter of building on that work and getting information on the hard figures from the Minister of State. What has been done by the enterprise agencies?

Photo of Gerald NashGerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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I thank Senator Cullinane. The most recent annual employment survey showed that, at the end of 2014 in Waterford, there were a total of 10,157 people in full and part-time employment in client companies of Enterprise Ireland and the IDA.Enterprise Ireland clients employ 5,060 people while IDA Ireland clients employ 5,097. Corresponding figures for 2008 were 5,655 for Enterprise Ireland client companies and 6,790 for IDA Ireland client companies.

Waterford was particularly hit at the beginning of the downturn in the economy with the closure of Waterford Crystal. Following the closure of the Talk Talk call centre in 2011, by which time this Government had taken office, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, initiated the south east action plan and established the south east forum to drive the implementation of that plan, in late 2011. Officials from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation engage with the key State players on the forum to monitor developments on the detailed actions set out in the plan, and the Minister, Deputy Bruton, has held a considerable number of meetings with the forum.

Significant progress on job creation has been made in Waterford, as the Senator acknowledged, including the establishment of the new call centre operation, Eishtec, supported by Enterprise Ireland, which now employs more staff than previously worked for Talk Talk in the city. There have been several other job creation initiatives for the region as a result of the work of Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. During 2014 Sanofi, currently employing 500, announced plans to invest €44 million in Genzyme's biotechnology campus in Waterford. Last autumn, the Taoiseach and the Minister, Deputy Bruton, officiated at the launch of an exciting new €100 million project by West Pharmaceutical Services in Waterford city, the latest in a succession of new job creation projects in the region. The number of IDA Ireland site visits to Waterford doubled from 31 in the period from 2008 to 2010 to 62 in the period 2011 to 2014. In addition, other enterprise support initiatives have been developed to support new start-ups, graduate placements and research projects.

In order to improve the offering in the region to win new business, IDA Ireland has, under the Action Plan for Jobs 2014, funded the construction of an advanced manufacturing facility in Waterford. IDA Ireland's commitment to Waterford continues, with further expansion expected in the Waterford area in terms of advanced manufacturing units and other facilities over the next period of time. The facility announced last year, which is under construction, is 2,348 sq. m in area and is located in the IDA Technology Park at Butlerstown. It is now nearing completion.

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for his response. It might be helpful if he would ask the enterprise agencies to forward a year-on-year breakdown from 2008 regarding jobs created and jobs lost. It would be more useful for assessing what progress has been made in recent years. The last time those figures were released was in 2013, so it would be interesting to see what advances were made last year. While I accept that jobs are being created, jobs are also being lost. It is the net increase that is important and that interests people.

There is progress, and I support that, but we must do a great deal more. Perhaps the Minister would look at the recommendations of the South East Economic Development Strategy, SEEDS, report that have not been implemented and prioritise those as actions that must be delivered as quickly as possible.

Photo of Gerald NashGerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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In the last two years the number at work in the region has risen by approximately 19,000 and the unemployment rate has fallen from 19.4% to 13.7%. That is a substantial achievement. All of the agencies and, indeed, all of the public representatives in the area, including the Senator and my colleague Deputy Conway, work very hard in this regard. Obviously, Waterford and the south-east region required specific focus from the Government, and that is the reason the Minister, Deputy Bruton, developed the south east action plan. The important element of that plan is that there is an amount of local ownership and local buy-in, and IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, the local authorities, Waterford Institute of Technology and the local enterprise office are strongly engaged in it.

The report of the Oireachtas committee is very interesting. As the Senator acknowledged, there are elements of it that are not under the direct control of my Department. However, we have an interest in it and the forum has been asked to look at the report in detail. The Minister, Deputy Bruton, is on top of that. It is also important to point out that what the Government is seeking to do, particularly the Ministers with responsibility for jobs, is to align the interests of all of the agencies and all Departments and create what might be considered a mini action plan for jobs for each region. Inspiration for that, in many ways, could have been drawn from the south east forum and how it operates.

The Senator has acknowledged the need for the alignment of local, regional and national objectives, and we are doing that quite well in Waterford, an area that was particularly badly hit by the recession. The Senator also acknowledged the good work that is being done. The economic recovery is under way but there is a great deal of work to do over the next period of time and I am aware that the Senator is on board for doing that work, along with colleagues such as Deputy Conway. We have a focus on Waterford. There are particular issues there to be tackled and I am confident we will do that.