andMr. Wyse asked the Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism in view of the announcement of the closure of the Ford car assembly plant in Cork, if he will (1) head a delegation to meet the Ford management in the US in an effort to have the decision reversed; and (2) establish immediately an emergency job creation task force for the Cork region headed by a Government Minister and a representative of all interests in an effort to counter the huge job losses in the area.

As the Deputies will be aware, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and I, accompanied by the managing director of the Industrial Development Authority, met Mr. Philip Caldwell, Chairman and Chief Executive of the Ford Motor Company, and other senior Ford executives in Detroit on 4 May 1984. The meeting was an important stage in our continuing efforts to secure new Ford investment in manufacturing in Cork.

We presented to Fords a number of product areas which we expect to be of interest to them and outlined the attractiveness of this country, and of the Cork area, as a location for investment in these high technology areas. On the basis of our presentation, Mr. Caldwell agreed to further discussions between the IDA and the relevant people in Fords to examine the investment opportunities in these areas.

In relation to the second part of the Deputies' question, the House will be aware that the Government established a high level expert working group to advise on the impact of measures being taken to provide jobs in the Cork area, the action needed to provide additional new jobs and all action possible to safeguard existing viable jobs. The decisions of the Government on the recommendations of the working group were announced on Friday, 11 May 1984. The principal decisions related to the designation of Ringaskiddy Port and Industrial Estate as a free zone, the designation of Ringaskiddy Industrial Estate and three Cork city industrial estates for higher IDA grants and the new allocation of £4.9 million for infrastructural work in the greater Cork area. In addition, Bord Gáis Éireann will supply natural gas directly to companies on the Ringaskiddy Industrial Estate at oil-related prices, Cork Harbour Commissioners will now award a contract for the construction of a deep water wharf at Ringaskiddy, an industrial waste disposal facility will be provided at or near Ringaskiddy, a new instrument landing system will replace the existing facility at Cork Airport and special emphasis will be placed on manpower training and development and the further development of food processing, electronics and services sectors.

Ag tagairt don fhreagra míshásúil a thug an tAire, in view of the disappointment felt in the Cork area because of the Government's non-quantifying of the job creation figures arising from the task force report, would the Minister and the Government agree even at this stage to what we ask in the second part of the question put down by us, to establish immediately an emergency job creation task force for the Cork regions? I want to make it quite clear that, despite what the Government announced and the Minister's reply——

The Deputy must confine himself to a question.

I am confining myself to the question——

To a question.

——and the answer given. There is no indication——

The Deputy must confine himself to a question.

Will the Minister and the Government quantify for us, as we ask in the second part of the question, the number of jobs they propose to create in the Cork area?

I do not accept the suggestion made by the Deputy that the people of Cork are less than happy with this. Not only did I receive a very positive reaction to the announcement when I made it in Cork from the people I met, also I have been to Cork for a full day industrial tour where I visited industries and also met people representative of all sectors of the Cork economy including the Deputy——

——and, generally speaking, a high-level of satisfaction was expressed by the representative people I met in Cork with the Government task force and the decisions taken on it. I think I can say that in Cork or anywhere without fear of justifiable criticism or contradiction. Secondly, in so far as the quantification is concerned, I was asked that very question at the press conference when the matter was being announced. I said that we did not propose to quantify the number of jobs to be created because as a result of this task force jobs were not being created by Government edict. The Government were creating the conditions within which Cork people themselves could by using the various facilities provided, particularly higher levels of grant for small industry, come forward with projects which would create jobs. The number of jobs will not depend upon Government action alone but on the response in Cork to the conditions created as a result of the Government decisions on this task force. That is the appropriate, modern and sensible way to deal with an unemployment problem. The Government alone do not and cannot provide jobs on their own. A response is required and I am quite confident that we will get that response in Cork because I have noticed in my recent visits there a very high level of optimism on the part of people who are interested in setting up industries and other service employment in Cork. I believe that we have created the conditions in which that optimism can have full expression.

Is the Minister aware that it is vitally important that we have some very positive information of his meeting with Ford management in the US? We want to know the possibilities of continued employment in the Ford plant. What efforts has he made to secure the manufacture of a component part at the Ford plant? Regarding the second part of the question, I must take the Minister to task when he says that he is looking for a response from the people of Cork arising out of the task force. Last week I asked him to make available the full text of that report to interested people in the Cork area such as public representatives, trade unions and the business community. Finally, does the Minister not agree that the areas of employment recommended by the Government from the task force report do not give immediate employment which was the main object of the task force?

I do not accept the various implications in the Deputy's question. As far as the task force were concerned, the intention all along was that they would do a number of positive things to improve the infrastructure and the conditions for employment creation in Cork. They have done that and, contrary to the presentation of Cork opinion by Deputy Wyse — which I believe is inaccurate — there will be and already is a very positive response in the city and county of Cork to these measures and I believe that we will see many Cork people coming forward with industrial ideas who would not have done so were it not for the improved provisions that have been made as a result of the task force report. Secondly, I have already dealt with the question of publication last week and I do not propose to go back on it again. Thirdly, as far as Fords are concerned we were presenting them with a number of options in respect of new products in the rapidly developing application of electronics in the automobile, something which is developing at an indeterminate speed at this stage. Many of the products that Fords might be interested in locating in Ireland are not ones for which the market is necessarily ready this year. It might be three or four years before the world Ford operation would have use for these products. We are discussing with them a number of possibilities, not just one, so it is quite impossible for Fords to tell me that they are going to put in a plant at the end of this year, next year or at any particular time. It depends on the market and the product that they select. However, I will say that the atmosphere of the meeting in Fords was extremely positive. I think we succeeded in opening their minds very much to the possibilities that exist in the electronics industry in Ireland, particularly in Cork. I feel that we have made a great deal of progress with Fords as a result of this high level meeting and I intend to follow up this matter.

I want to try to indicate by asking this question to the Minister and the Government that what they are suggesting to us are not the facts——

Come to the point.

——as they are on the ground. How soon does the Minister envisage that the response he is talking about to the massive proposals will be reflected by the Government? The situation is more crucial than either the Minister or the Government realise.

Has the Deputy a question?

At this moment it is possible for people to begin planning industrial projects that could be located in the industrial estates and thereby qualify for the higher levels of grants. The consent of the EEC is necessary before a designation can take effect and the higher level of grant become available but I am confident that work is already taking place in that direction. I have had discussions with IDA regional people in Cork to this effect. We are already witnessing the response and I am confident that these efforts will prove to be significantly successful. It would be my hope that the Deputy, rather than denigrate these initiatives, would seek to give them every support possible and would use his considerable influence to encourage people to have industrial ideas to contact the IDA with a view to availing of these unique facilities that are being made available in Cork.

On the question of the Minister's optimism about Fords continuing in some form in Cork, we have met with the management of Fords and they made it clear that they had considered 37 options regarding the future of the plant.

I do not recognise that as a question.

The question is whether the Minister is being over-optimistic regarding the future of Fords in any form. Is he being over-optimistic on the basis of the meetings he had with Fords in America? I think he is and that we are being led up the garden path.

I am glad the Deputy asked the question because it is relevant. Fords met with me too and made exactly the same points as they made to Deputy Wallace. They told us all about the options they had examined and turned down. However, the options we put to them in Detroit were an entirely different set of options which they did not consider in the process to which Deputy Wallace refers.