THE GOVERNMENT does not have the finances to implement some of the recommendations in a jobs taskforce report issued in response to the major job losses at the Dell plant, Tánaiste Mary Coughlan has admitted.
Ms Coughlan, the Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment, was responding to recent comments by Denis Brosnan, chairman of the Mid West Regional Taskforce, which is charged with overseeing economic development in the midwest.
He warned that the next stage of his work would be a “waste of time” unless recommendations published four months ago were implemented. Mr Brosnan, former chief executive of Kerry Group, was appointed to head the taskforce set up earlier this year following the decision by Limerick’s largest employer, Dell, to reduce its workforce by 2,000.
In the interim report presented to the Government in June, Mr Brosnan warned that unemployment could reach 55,000 in the midwest by the end of the year.
Among the recommendations was a call on the Government to tackle costs in Ireland, to accelerate the regeneration project in Limerick and to improve back to education allowance schemes.
In Limerick yesterday, the Tánaiste said a lot of the recommendations had a national context and issues such as competitiveness were being addressed.
“It has to be said that we don’t have the financial wherewithal to implement every recommendation that is there,” she said.
“But I will, along with my colleagues, be bringing together two or three key issues and items that need to be addressed in the context of the taskforce here to see if we can find the financial wherewithal in next year’s budget to allow that to happen.”
The Tánaiste was speaking at Thomond Park in Limerick at a conference on regional development. Dynamic Regions – Future Directions in Regional Development was organised by Shannon Development to mark its 50th anniversary and to provide a blueprint for future directions in regional development.
Highlighting the Government’s commitment to regional development, Ms Coughlan said it was now “more important than ever”.
“To be more competitive and innovative, we need more regional actions on the ground to devise solutions to help us on the road to national recovery,” she said.
Stressing the importance of achieving balanced regional development, economist Jim Power said continued ongoing investment in access was critical.
“By that I mean transport infrastructure such as ports, airport rail and road is critical for the midwest economy,” he said. “Also critical for the region and Ireland generally will be a competitively priced power supply; without this, economic and commercial activity will be in jeopardy.”
The conference also featured international speakers including Christina Diegelmann, senior policy co-ordinator for the Assembly of European Regions, who noted an EU survey by the assembly in 24 regions in 13 countries showing regions have a crucial role to play in economic recovery.