Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The number of persons signing on to the live register in the Tallaght region as at end August 2009, stands at 10,121, an increase of 87% over the last twelve months, the number of people under 25 years of age signing on in Tallaght was 2,563 in August 2009 an 85% increase from August 2008. This reflects the national trend over that period as the economic crisis has taken hold. (Live Register up nationally by 192,672 or 77.9% in the last 12 months).

In response to the increase in unemployment my Department through FÁS, the National Training and Employment Authority, is prioritising on a national basis, the need to assist and up-skill those who have become unemployed. While activation measures will assist individuals in securing employment and enhancing their skills, the key to addressing our unemployment problem is the creation of more jobs. My Department remains strongly focussed on supporting and promoting enterprise development to create new jobs. In this regard the Enterprise Development Agencies of my Department, including IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, are working to ensure that we continue to grow the economy and jobs even in the current more challenging climate.

FÁS Employment Services in Tallaght has recently undertaken one of the biggest direct marketing operations in the history of Tallaght, in conjunction with the Local Employment Service and the FÁS Training Centre. This operation directly targeted people signing on in the Local Department of Social & Family Affairs office in Tallaght by giving them information and an invitation to come into the Training Centre for a briefing on all the available courses. The first of these briefings was completed on 9th September 2009, and will continue each Wednesday in September 2009.

FÁS Employment Services also hosted the first pilot programme in the country to support the many Managers and Executives in Tallaght who have been made redundant. This Executive Networking and Support Programme was very successful with a 45% placement rate. FÁS Employment Services is also promoting the new Work Placement Programme in the area, with many employers beginning to avail of this programme. FÁS Employment Services is also working in collaboration with colleagues in Northern Ireland in placing many of the local youth from Tallaght in the Wider Horizons/ Springboard programme. There are approx 70 participants in these projects from Tallaght annually. The programme covers Media, Child Care, Leisure Industry, Performing Arts, Options etc. As part of the programme, participants gain training and work experience placement abroad in London, South Africa, Montreal and Canada.

FÁS is also enlisting the support of the local people in Tallaght to ascertain why only 60% of Tallaght people turn up for the courses offered to them. This is a major issue with the amount of time and finances wasted by this large attrition rate. By year end, FÁS Employment Services will have placed approximately 5000 clients in Tallaght on training courses despite the large attrition rate. Over the past 5 years, IDA Ireland has promoted Tallaght and South County Dublin as being well equipped to compete with other areas for potential foreign direct investment, with superb infrastructural facilities at Citywest and Grange Castle, and a third level Institute of Technology at Tallaght.

In Grange Castle, planning permission has been approved for an Advance Integrated Circuit Manufacturing and Research facility. In November 2008, Microsoft Corporation announced, that it had selected Grange Castle as the location for its new European data centre. Microsoft plans to invest $500m in the construction of the data centre and will employ up to 75 people. In addition, in July of this year Takeda had the official opening of its pharmaceutical plant in Grange Castle. This facility already employs 40 of the 60 people planned for recruitment. This facility will manufacture Takeda's blockbuster type II diabetes drug Actos. The development and manufacture of Takeda's future pipeline products for clinical trials will also take place at Grange Castle. These developments will be an invaluable tool for the future marketing of Grange Castle as a potential source of high quality and large-scale employment for the population of the environs, including Tallaght.

Enterprise Ireland's activity in Tallaght is focused on the creation of new jobs through supporting entrepreneurs in manufacturing and internationally traded services companies and by supporting entrepreneurs to set up High Potential Start-Up Companies. Enterprise Ireland works closely with the Tallaght Institute of Technology in encouraging the commercialisation of research and has approved financial support of over €2.6m to the Institute for the development and management of a Campus based Incubation Centre. This centre provides entrepreneurs with affordable space in an environment which provides support to them to research their new ideas and to afford them the opportunity to bring about new indigenous businesses. The agency has also approved support of €1.225m for a Centre of Excellence at the Institute of Technology Tallaght, the focus of which is Microsensors for Clinical Analysis.