Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Senator Gallagher has four minutes to outline his case.

Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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I dtús, ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach. I welcome the Minister and thank her for her attendance.

I would like to highlight the issue of the Bose factory in Carrickmacross, which closed in May 2015 with the loss of over 150 jobs to the town of Carrickmacross. Bose had been in Carrickmacross since 1978 and was very successful there but unfortunately it has now transferred its operations to Malaysia and Mexico. Despite attempts by the IDA and Enterprise Ireland to find a replacement, no new investor has been found to date. The building is now an empty shell. It is a fine facility which extends to 8,000 sq. ft. of accommodation of both office and production facilities. It has over 200 car parking spaces and it sits on a site area of approximately 7.2 acres.

Indigenous jobs have been the backbone of County Monaghan to date. That has been the history. A few companies have worldwide recognition, namely, Monaghan Mushrooms, which is a leading light in the production of mushrooms, and Combilift, which is another name that is recognised worldwide. Unfortunately, all of these companies are under severe threat at the moment as a result of Brexit and the constant and current decline in the value of sterling. There is now extreme pressure on the local economy and local business as a result of this. If ever there was a time in Monaghan for a need to diversify employment, it is now. We are at a critical junction in our history.

An interesting statistic is that in 2014, 85% of leaving certificate students progressed to further education. That is very welcome. Unfortunately, only 24% of those graduates end up getting employment in County Monaghan. That is quite a worrying statistic. Our young people are being educated and moving on, and are not returning back home again. This statistic is very low by national standards.

I get no pleasure in saying that the record of IDA and Enterprise Ireland in attracting business to the county in general has been very poor. An example of this is that from 2009 to the first quarter of 2016, which is a seven-year period, only four visits have occurred. Four visits in seven years is a sad indictment which is even more emphasised when one considers the location of Carrickmacross. It is less than 45 minutes from Dublin Airport and there is a motorway almost the whole way to Dublin city. It also has good transport links to Belfast. It is a great place to live and housing is very affordable. It has a lot going for it.

I plead with the Minister to redouble her efforts to encourage IDA and Enterprise Ireland to look at Monaghan as a viable location for any industry because we are hurting at the moment. The facility has being lying idle for over a year and a half now. We are under increased pressure due to Brexit and the pressures of the declining value of sterling. We are at a crossroads. It is critical that the IDA and Enterprise Ireland refocus their efforts on trying to get replacement industry into Monaghan so we can counteract the losses we have incurred and the hurt we are currently going through.

I thank the Minister again for her time and for her attention. The members of Carrickmacross-Castleblayney municipal district would be delighted to have a meeting with the Minister at her earliest convenience to try to progress this issue.

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Gallagher for raising this Commencement matter. The Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Heather Humphreys, and Senator James Reilly have also raised the issue with me.

I was very disappointed when Bose made the decision to leave Carrickmacross after spending over 37 years in County Monaghan. The impact of this closure was very difficult not only for the 140 full-time employees and their families but also for those who work seasonally at the plant and for the wider community.Following the announcement of this closure, an inter-agency co-ordination group chaired by Enterprise Ireland was established to address the needs of the affected staff. IDA Ireland was a member of this group along with Monaghan County Council, the local enterprise office, the Department of Social Protection and the education and training boards of Cavan-Monaghan and Louth-Meath. The group helped to develop a demographic and skills profile of former staff at the BOSE facility. This was completed by IDA Ireland in partnership with BOSE human resources, HR, locally. This profile is central to IDA Ireland's marketing of the location to clients whose requirements it may match. Enterprise Ireland also actively markets the facility to its client base.

As Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, I am committed to finding a new investor for the site and to bringing new employment opportunities to Carrickmacross. IDA Ireland obviously has an important role to play and I know the agency is committed to attracting new investment to the north-east region. I am in regular contact with the agency and I have directed it to ensure that every effort is made to market the facility and the town to potential investors.

It remains the case, however, that the ultimate decision by companies as to where to locate in Ireland is always taken by their management. I emphasise that supporting regional job creation has been a priority of mine since my first day in office. I want to ensure that regional Ireland benefits from our hard-won economic growth and that the jobs recovery is felt in every single county. As announced yesterday as part of the budget, my Department has secured funding for a number of measures that will improve regional competitiveness and help Border counties in particular to cope with the impact of Brexit.

There are other policy tools at our disposal to help regional development. For example, the north east-north west action plan for jobs launched in November last year aims to deliver 28,000 extra jobs in the north east. I have met this group. All regional action plans will also be supported by investment of up to €250 million over the next five years, including €150 million for IDA Ireland's regional property programme. In addition, IDA Ireland has committed to increasing investment by 30% to 40% in each region by 2019 as part of its strategy Winning: Foreign Direct Investment 2015-2019. The north east has many strengths, including a talented work force, its existing cluster of companies in international business services and engineering and its proximity to Dublin Airport. I am confident, therefore, that Carrickmacross, together with the wider region, will experience increased employment and investment in the time ahead. I would be very glad to meet with the Monaghan group that Senator Gallagher would like me to meet.

Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for her reply and for acceding to the request to meet councillors from the Carrickmacross-Castleblayney Municipal District. I welcome the contents of the Minister's statement. The old adage that "the proof of the pudding is in the eating" springs to mind. When we turn on the radio every morning and hear about job announcements, they are normally in Cork, Dublin or Galway. Good luck to those three locations, I do not have any issues with them. However, I would love to turn on my radio some morning and hear about a jobs announcement in Monaghan, Cavan, Donegal or elsewhere. Until Government policy is very much pointed in that direction, I am afraid it could be some time before we hear those announcements on our radio stations.

I will give those involved the benefit of the doubt. I look forward to IDA Ireland's commitment to increase investment in the regions by 30% to 40%. When one considers the statistics I provided this morning - the fact that there have been four visits in seven years - most people would admit that one would not get too excited about a 30% or 40% increase on that. We live in hope. I look forward to the Government keeping a special eye on regions such as Monaghan, Cavan and all the Border areas that are suffering and that will continue to suffer hardship until Brexit washes itself through. I also look forward to the Government trying to encourage IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland to, in turn, encourage investors to come to those locations.

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator. I want to make it very clear that Government policy is to ensure that there is regional development across the country. There is a strategic group in Monaghan working to ensure that jobs are brought to Monaghan and the Border area. I have met that implementation group. There are regional plans. Perhaps it would be a good idea for the Senator to get the regional plan for the area in order to ensure that he knows what are the exact targets. I would be delighted to meet the group the Senator asked me to meet. I have met the county manager, the different educational people up there, the local enterprise offices, IDA Ireland representatives up there and the Enterprise Ireland people up there. I will meet the group mentioned by the Senator. It is a targeted area and we will do everything we can to make sure that jobs come to Monaghan.