This article is from page 6 of the 2006-03-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
THE Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Michael Martin has rejected calls to establish a task force in response to recent job losses in Clare. Fine Gael deputy, Pat Breen had called for the measure, pointing out that 24 companies had been lost to the Midwest in the past three years with only five projects attracted to the region.
However, in the Dail, Minister Martin said, “I do not propose to establish a task force as I am confident that the strategies and policies being pursued by the development agencies, together with the ongoing commitment of Government to regional development will bear fruit in terms of additional sustainable investment and jobs for the people of Clare, including those living in Ennis.”
Minister Martin said that Clare had a strong base of foreign direct investment jobs. He said that State-supported FDI employment represented approximately 15 per cent of the total labour force in Clare, as compared to about 7 per cent nationally.
“IDA has nine supported companies in Clare, employing 1,024, a provisional figure, in December 2005, 67 per cent of which are in Ennis. Employment in IDA supported companies demonstrated strong growth during 2005, growing by about 11 per cent in County Clare,” he said.
“In moving Clare to a more knowledge based economy, IDA Ireland is partnering with the educational institutions in the region, in developing the skill sets necessary to attract high value added employment in activities, such as research and development corporate services, shared services, supply chain management and treasury management.
Deputy Breen said he was “disappointed with the Minister’s response.”
“Ennis has huge potential in terms of jobs, but is becoming a dormitory town. No major foreign direct investment has come into Ennis for a number of years and I am worried about the whole jobs policy for Clare. There is no direction.”
However, Fianna Fail senator, Brendan Daly accused Deputy Breen of “obviously running out of issues to raise.”
“If anything, there are a surplus amount of organisations in Clare concentrating on bringing industry to the county. I can’t understand the motivation for Deputy Breen calling for a task force as the personnel in the likes of Shannon Development come with great calibre. The issue that does need clarity is who should lead the promotion of industry in the region and I believe that it should rest with Shannon Development.”