Pearse Doherty (Sinn Fein)

I welcome this debate. A couple of weeks ago I called for a debate to focus on the problem of unemployment in the north west and I was glad to learn then that this debate was to take place. The role of IDA Ireland is now included. I want to focus on a number of issues, particularly some of those raised by the Minister of State in his contribution, such as the vibrant economy and that Government policy, in terms of regional development, is keeping this economy on track.

The Government is failing to acknowledge that Donegal is in a crisis in terms of economic development. I do not want to appear negative but as Senators and members of the Oireachtas we have a responsibility to face the facts. Unless we face the reality of what is happening in an area we will not be able to address the problems. There is an economic crisis. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Martin, has dismissed this as a so-called crisis.

I want to speak about the facts in Donegal. We have an unemployment rate of over 16%, some say the rate is over 18%. Whether it is 16% or 18% it is the highest rate in the 26 counties, running at four times the national average. The position is deteriorating in the region with those haemorrhaging jobs. Two weeks ago I rose in this Chamber to speak about three companies in the Gweedore industrial estate that lost more than 100 jobs since the summer. Those companies are not making the national headlines. There are also other companies closing down that are not making the national headlines.

This leads to the problems in Donegal. None of the promised decentralised jobs have come to Donegal town, Buncrana or Gweedore. It is a low-wage economy with employment heavily reliant on the construction industry, more so than the national average, and the low-paid service sector. Over reliance on the construction industry in Donegal, as elsewhere in the State, will be problematic in the long term but the Government does not appear to have any plans in place.

Over 39% of those unemployed in Donegal have no formal or primary education. Donegal has the second highest educational drop-out rate in the State with 25.5% of students not completing the leaving certificate. One out of every four students in Donegal do not complete the leaving certificate according to research carried out by Donegal County Council in 2004. It is an area with the highest levels of unemployment, the highest levels of poverty, the highest levels of early school leaving and the lowest levels of disposable income. Does this not constitute a region that is in need of special economic assistance from the Government? If it does not, I do not know what does. It is an employment blackspot and it is in crisis.

Employers will not be attracted to a region unless the proper infrastructure is in place. Other Senators have mentioned this also. The Government has failed in this area by not tackling the infrastructural deficiencies in Donegal. It is a derailed county. Earlier today I called on the Minister for Transport to come into the House and speak about Transport 21 and the lack of a rail service in Donegal. It is one of the few counties that does not have a rail line. When I took this to Jacques Barrot, the EU Commissioner on Transport, there was disbelief. We showed him the map of the rail network throughout Ireland and when we showed him the north west, he asked what was there. We told him they were all vibrant communities that do not have public infrastructure. We need to move forward on the issue of infrastructure.

We also have poor broadband provision. Members from the Opposition said provision was not as bad as it appears. The reality is that according to the OECD, the 26 Counties still ranks 23rd out of 30 industrial states in terms of broadband provision. Donegal and other counties in the north west, such as Leitrim, Cavan, Monaghan and Roscommon, have a broadband uptake of 10% or less.

I know people who want to set up their own businesses in my parish of Gweedore, Cloughaneely, or the Rosses and who want broadband facilities but they are not available. It is too patchy and too slow and, unfortunately, they cannot work from their own bases. It is a legacy of another Fianna Fáil privatisation debacle.

The so-called world-class infrastructure we heard about earlier is crumbling beneath our feet in Donegal. In the past three years since I was a member of Donegal County Council in the electoral ward that Senator Ó Domhnaill and I represented, three bridges on main routes into west Donegal collapsed. That is the reality in terms of infrastructure in Donegal. The Government must stop treating Donegal as an afterthought and ensure the north west region is designated an area of exceptional economic need. Adequate infrastructure is key to the development of indigenous industry and attracting foreign direct investment.

It is extremely frustrating to hear Fianna Fáil members pat themselves on the back in terms of the unprecedented growth in the economy. Before the election I heard Ministers say they canvassed different areas throughout the country and could not find anybody in because all the people were working, that the unemployment rates of 18% that existed in the 1980s no longer exist, and that people no longer leave communities because they cannot find work. In Donegal, the position is different. Bord Fáilte had a tourism promotion saying, "Up here it is different." Well, up here, in terms of economics it is definitely different and it is not just about statistics.

Different Members talked about their experience of working in multinational companies. My experience of the jobs crisis in Donegal is of members of my family and friends and colleagues losing their jobs. Three members of my family lost their jobs in a factory that closed down. Two of them had to leave Donegal, and leave families and young children, to find employment elsewhere during the week. That is unacceptable in today's environment. I ask that IDA Ireland and the Government make Donegal and the north-west a priority. It needs to be more than about reports.

In 1998 the Government faced up to the reality that there was an economic crisis in Donegal when Fruit of the Loom shed 3,200 jobs. At that time a task force report was commissioned which recommended a net increase of 815 jobs per year. That would have resulted in an additional 5,600 net jobs over the next seven years but the reality in Donegal was not 5,600 net jobs but job losses. Since then we have had the interdepartmental report, by a high level commission of all eight Departments pooled together to look at Donegal. It was a damp squib. It did not fast-track investment as some Senators have called for, it did not look at targets, it did not promise on rail, broadband or motorways. It simply told us what we already knew.

Annual reports from IDA Ireland, Údarás na Gaeltachta and other agencies have been pooled together. I demand that the Government and IDA Ireland address this problem not in isolation of Donegal as there is a need to look at the north west region. Earlier we heard the Government side support the idea put forward by Dr. Gillespie in terms of one all-island agency to attract inward investment. I am glad that support is forthcoming. It has been a long-standing policy of Sinn Féin and I hope it is acted upon.

Donegal is unique in terms of being an economic blackspot. The north-west Border corridor region is the most deprived region on this island. I thank the Cathaoirleach for the opportunity to make this address but I ask that the Government admits this is not a so-called crisis, it is an economic crisis. If there was an 18% unemployment rate in Dublin, would that be a crisis? If one in four people were not completing primary or secondary education, would it be a crisis? It is a crisis and we need to face the facts and put in place energetic plans that will resolve this issue.