asked the Minister for Industry and Energy if he is aware that there are over 3,000 people on the unemployment register in the Tallaght area, County Dublin; and the proposals he has in mind to attract and encourage new industries to this area to help this very serious unemployment problem.

Manufacturing employment in the Tallaght area has shown an encouraging increase each year since 1979 but I am very conscious of the employment needs of this area.

The IDA have assisted a number of projects in Tallaght in recent years. Among the bigger companies in the area are General Motors, Telectron, Glen Abbey, Loctite Ltd., Fujitsu and Bearcat International, the successful rescue of which was negotiated recently by IDA. These companies between them provide over 2,250 jobs.

I am informed by the Industrial Development Authority that they own 25 acres of industrial land and an 18,600 sq. ft. factory in the Tallaght area, which are being promoted for industrial development. The IDA also have land and factory buildings in the surrounding areas of Clondalkin and Walkinstown. In addition to these facilities there is a wide range of industrial land and buildings, provided by the private sector, available in the area.

I am aware of the industrial concerns mentioned by the Minister but I was hoping he might be able to give information of new industries coming to the area to help meet the unemployment problem. Could he expand further on that?

I do not have any further information on individual projects which may be in the pipeline. The Deputy will appreciate that these are not announced until they are finalised and I would not be in a position to give him information on anything that may be under negotiation at this stage. However, the list I have read out is a not insignificant one. Not surprisingly in view of the increased population in that area, manufacturing employment has been growing since 1980 at a modest rate whereas in County Dublin as a whole it has fallen. The situation in unemployment terms is one of concern, but there has been an increase in employment in manufacturing in that area.

Is the Minister aware that a number of concerns have ceased operations in that area as well?

Yes.

Is the Minister aware that one of the companies he mentioned, Glen Abbey, are in serious financial trouble and unless they get some assistance from this Government they may be closed in a matter of months? Has he any plans to help labour-intensive industries all over Ireland which at the moment are suffering grave financial losses particularly as a result of the present PRSI system which is a disincentive to industries of that nature? In relation to the Tallaght area, is the Minister aware that there is a very large young population there and the majority of those currently unemployed are young people, and as each school year ends those figures will be added to unless this Government can furnish details of plans to locate major industries, not just warehouses, in the Tallaght area?

We have spent 15 minutes on three questions.

I am aware of the large number of young people who are unemployed in Tallaght. I am also aware of the problems of labour-intensive industries and the matters referred to by the Deputy in that regard. The IDA are actively promoting advance factories in Tallaght, Ballymount and Clondalkin and they have the infrastructure on the ground to establish the industries there, if the market picks up and a sufficient number of people interested in establishing industries can be attracted.

A final supplementary; this is a local question.

In an area like Tallaght with 60,000 people this is more than a local matter. This highlights the Government's inactivity in this area. The Minister said there were 18,000 sq. ft. of factory space available in Tallaght. Is that one factory or a cluster of factories?

The Deputies for the Tallaght area are aware that there is an 18,600 sq. ft. factory which is being promoted for industrial development.

A single unit?

Yes.

Would the Minister not consider that Tallaght, with its sprawling population, would be a suitable area to establish a cluster of factories to attract small industries in view of the fact that great difficulty is being experienced in attracting large industrial projects to Ireland?

There are four 4,000 sq. ft. factories in Ballymount and four 3,700 sq. ft. factories in Clondalkin which would meet that end of the market.