Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State. The Minister has seen my Commencement Matter. A very disappointing article was published during the week regarding the South East Economic Monitor, which showed that the south-east region is being left behind. The monitor was compiled at Waterford Institute of Technology by Dr. Cormac O'Keefe, Mr. John Casey and Dr. Ray Griffin and is actually frightening. As someone who lives in Carlow and as a Carlow person, I know that we could all see the signs. I was very disappointed because one comes into the Seanad every week and hears that the recession is over.

The figures and statistics mentioned in the article and the monitor itself are definitely on the ball. The article notes "While there has been a drop in unemployment the south east is the only region not meeting the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs target" and that "The region has experienced a large drop in unemployment (from 12.5% in Q1 2016 to 9.3%) with 9,900 net new jobs - the first time unemployment is below 10% in eight years". The unemployment significantly relates to the economic decline. It quotes Dr. Griffin as saying:

The South East is the only region (of the eight) not meeting Government’s Action Plan for Jobs target (to have regional unemployment less than 1% of national rate). There is very little variation between the counties in the region.

It also reports that "the government’s Action Plan for Jobs commitment to bring every region’s unemployment rate to within 1% of the national average has been achieved everywhere but the South East" and quotes Dr. Griffin as saying that "We cannot see any Government action aimed at closing that gap".

The article mentions that although "the national policy approach is focused on the crisis being over; the economic crisis is still unfinished business in the South East.". Businesses in the south east still need to be looked at. It quotes Dr. O'Keefe as saying that “The South East region is home to 10.7% of the national population, yet it is clear there is no plan to turn the regional economy around,” and that "Low income, low skills jobs are driving the employment growth; it is pretty simple, the good jobs lost in the recession are being replaced by poorer jobs". That is crucial. That is what happening. The good jobs are being replaced by the poor jobs. The article notes that:

The quality of jobs in the South East is dramatically lower than the national average, and there is no evidence of this improving. This means incomes, disposable income and consumption in the South East is lower than the rest of the country.

I know that in terms of unemployment there are different remits in different areas, but I think it is crucial to bring up the article's contention that "the agencies charged with economic development, IDA and Enterprise Ireland, are underperforming with regards to the South East". It notes Mr. Casey as saying:

They now have specific objectives to promote a more regional distribution to their activities, however we do not see any evidence of this in the South East. We can see what these highly effective organisations can do when they put their mind to it. They need to give more support to their regional offices and target this gap in their activities.

On another piece of the report which I felt was crucial, the articles says that "the South East’s economy will not get back into step with the rest of country while there continues to be a cap on higher education capacity". Carlow has two excellent third level colleges. Mr. Casey is quoted as saying that "It beggar’s belief that €1.7bn was spent on new university buildings over the past five years, and not one of these state supported investments was made in the South East". Not one penny was spent there. We have been looking for that constantly because that it part of our employment problem.

The article also notes that:

Despite steady decreases in the Live Register in Carlow (17.1% year-on-year decrease), Census 2016 shows that Carlow had the third highest rate of unemployment in the country. Carlow is home to 1.2% of the population of the State but to 1.6% of those on the Live Register.

To go back to the IDA, it created 51,793 net jobs across the country but we only got 0.9%. Just to finish on a final quote from the article, "There is also evidence of low job quality as the returns for taxes on work (PAYE, USC, and self-employed taxes) in Carlow are 54% of what one would expect based on population share". That is a massive issue which really needs to be addressed going forward. We in the south east and Carlow are being totally forgotten again.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I am sure the Senator will not be forgotten.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail)
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I will not forget it anyway.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I call on the Minister of State to respond to that in so far as he can.

Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach and I thank the Senator for her attention and care on behalf of the people she represents to ensure that they get their fair share. I commend her on that and thank her for her efforts on their behalf. The Government is conscious of the particular problems facing Carlow and the south-east region more widely. The most recent official figures from the CSO, for the first quarter of 2017, show that the unemployment rate in the south east was 9.3% as compared with the national average of 6.7%. Although official unemployment estimates are not available at the county level, the rate in Carlow is likely to be in line with the regional total, and thus also above the national average.

There is some basis for optimism in the most recent figures, in that unemployment in the south east fell more rapidly than nationally over the last year. Continuation of this trend would see a substantial narrowing of the unemployment gap between Carlow, the south east and the country overall.

Government policy to reduce unemployment, both nationally and regionally is twofold. First we aim, through policies set out in the Action Plan for Jobs, to create an environment in which business can succeed and create jobs; and second, through Pathways to Work, we aim to ensure that as many of the new jobs and other vacancies which arise in our economy are filled by people taken from the live register, including young people.

The Pathways to Work strategies, initiated in 2012, determine the Department of Social Protection's approach to helping unemployed jobseekers return to work. Since the inception of Pathways to Work in 2012, employment and entitlement services have been brought together in "one-stop shop" Intreo centres; new schemes and employment supports have been introduced, while some existing schemes have been expanded; and there has been a transformation of jobseeker services through Intreo, with the scale and frequency of engagement with registered jobseekers being greatly increased. A social contract of rights and responsibilities between jobseekers and the State has been implemented.

In accordance with the Pathways to Work strategy, activation resources are concentrated on those most at risk of long-term unemployment. This in turn leads to a concentration of the Department of Social Protection's resources on areas of high unemployment. Within Carlow, the Department has seven activation case officers together with an activation support team. These officers work closely with other stakeholders including the Carlow and Kilkenny Education and Training Board to identify suitable training and educational opportunities for jobseekers in Carlow. Each month, case officers meet an average of 700 jobseekers to discuss the training and employment opportunities available to them. Case officers also work closely with employers to ensure that suitable people are matched to appropriate vacancies and in promoting the back to work enterprise allowance for those wishing to pursue self-employment. The promotion of the back to work enterprise allowance also involves close co-operation with the local enterprise office.Locally, the Department maintains close links with a range of stakeholders through its participation on the Carlow local community development committee and the south east regional skills forum. There are almost 370 places available on community employment schemes in Carlow along with a further 160 places on the Tús programme. The deployment of this wide range of resources has seen the number of jobseekers registered at the Department's offices fall by 2,501 or 36% since May 2012 and by 903 or 17% in the last 12 months alone.

I am informed by my colleague, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, that there are significant regional policy responses in respect of IDA and Enterprise Ireland activities. These are now brought together with other relevant support policies in the Action Plan for Jobs for the south east. Among the 194 actions in the plan to be delivered over the period 2015 to 2017 are a 30% increase in the number of start-up SMEs; a 30% to 40% increase in investments by overseas companies in the region by 2019, meaning at least 44 investments in the region over the coming years; a 20% increase in jobs in exporting companies, in particular in manufacturing, agrifood, business services and biopharma-medtech; a strong focus on the advanced manufacturing sector, which has been the traditional strength of the region; an 85% increase in exports over the next ten years through a range of measures in the agrifood sector; building on the success of companies like Eishtec, an industry-led forum for the business and financial services sector in the region, developing a financial service hub; to promote closer co-operation between employers and training and education bodies continue to progress the development of a technological university for the south east and boost apprenticeships in the region.

The south-east region has 72 IDA client companies which collectively employ 13,369 people. Seven of these companies, employing 800 people, are in Carlow. The main clusters are in high value manufacturing - pharmaceutical, medical devices and engineering - along with international financial services. IDA is now targeting a minimum of 30% to 40% increase in the number of investments for each region outside of Dublin. These investments will be a combination of new name investments, expansions from existing overseas companies in Ireland and research and development investments. Advanced technology buildings, ATBs, are an important support for attracting these investments and an ATB is planned for Carlow, to be completed this year.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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We are over the time limit so the Senator should be brief in her reply.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State. I am very disappointed by the figures, of which we are aware. It is important. I am very disappointed by the IDA. It made one official visit to Carlow last year. I am not sure if its representatives came down once or twice. Perhaps they had meetings I was not aware of. Its performance in Carlow is very bad.

University status for Carlow and Waterford institutes of technology is crucial. The Institute of Technology Carlow IT is Carlow's biggest employer. We have over 700 staff in the institute and it provides great employment to Carlow. University status is crucial. The Government should focus on employment in Carlow and creating more jobs.

Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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I will give some examples of activities supported by Enterprise Ireland in the recent past in the south east. Enterprise Ireland's competitive regional enterprise development €60 million fund was launched to support all eight regional action plans and provide investment of up to €60 million over the period to 2020 to support collaborative approaches. In 2017, Enterprise Ireland announced an investment in Suir Valley venture fund, a new €20 million venture capital fund located in Waterford. From 2011 to 2016, Enterprise Ireland approved innovative high potential support to 31 companies in the south east. These companies have been approved over €13 million in funding support. In 2016, Waterford Institute of Technology signed a €2.5 million contract with Enterprise Ireland, which will fund a significant expansion of the incubation facilities in ArcLabs. The extension will enable the institute to double its capacity to support technology startups in the south east. Regarded as one of Ireland's leading technology gateways, SEAM, located at Waterford Institute of Technology, currently provides assistance to more than 100 companies. Already, El has 85 client companies based in Carlow, which created 373 new jobs in 2016, bringing total employment by Enterprise Ireland clients in the county to 2,973. Client company Netwatch recently announced the addition of 85 new jobs over the next 12 months to recruit candidates for positions in software development, digital marketing, and sales and engineering as part of a €20 million investment. The recruitment drive will see the company's workforce grow to 250 people.

In summary, there is a wide range of activity in support of growing employment and reducing unemployment in Carlow and in the south east more widely. The Department of Social Protection provides essential supports to the unemployed. Significant effort is being made by the enterprise agencies on job creation and by the educational authorities in the operation of these schemes.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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We will have to speed up or we will not get through all Commencement matters. That matter took 14 minutes and we are allowed eight. I will be slow to choose those who delay again.