Written answers

Tuesday, 19 January 2010

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Job Initiative

9:00 pm

Photo of Pat BreenPat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 193: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment further to Parliamentary Question No. 222 of 16 September 2009 the status of the mid-west jobs task force report; when the final report will be finalised; the number of recommendations of the interim report which have been implemented; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1430/10]

Photo of Mary CoughlanMary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The wide range of recommendations in the Mid-West Task Force report cover both local and national issues. In that respect, the Government has been responding to the economic downturn generally and has taken numerous initiatives, for example in relation to competitiveness and cost competitiveness, industrial employment stabilization, and employment activation measures. All of these measures have benefited regions affected by or threatened with job losses, including the Mid West region. Workers in the Mid West are the subject of a substantial package assembled by the Government in response to the redundancies arising from developments at Dell in Limerick and knock-on effects in other companies in the region.

In addition, the State agencies IDA, Enterprise Ireland, Shannon Development and the County Enterprise Boards have redoubled their efforts to stimulate industrial employment in the Mid West region. For example, IDA is supporting eight industrial projects with a job potential of 1,073 which were announced by multinational companies in the Mid West in 2008 and 2009 and are now being brought into operation.

The measures mentioned above are outlined more fully in an initial response to its recommendations which I sent to the Task Force in late September. Given the wide range of recommendations in the report, I have also brought the report to the attention of my colleagues in Cabinet and it is currently being further considered in a number of other Government Departments as well as in my own Department following the recent budget. I am very grateful for the work Mr Brosnan and the other members of the Task Force have undertaken to date. I shall continue to keep the Task Force informed on the Government's work on matters covered in the interim recommendations. The Task Force has identified a number of issues for further study in its Final Report which I look forward to receiving in the coming months.

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