Fine Gael Enterprise, Trade & Employment Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD has described the loss of 785 high-value jobs at Pfizer as ‘a meltdown in the multinational sector’.

“This is a terrible day for Ireland and its multinational sector. Ireland is taking a much bigger hit than other countries, with three of the eight sites that are being ‘exited’ located in this country. Some 785 of the 6,000 jobs being lost are based in Ireland.

“Pfizer is also shedding jobs in the US, UK, Germany and Puerto Rico. However France, Sweden, Spain and Australia are not affected.

“The scale of the lay-offs in Ireland alone should send a clear signal to Government that it cannot afford to ignore Fine Gael’s warnings about Ireland’s lack of competitiveness any longer.

“Fine Gael is calling on the Government to immediately adopt our plans for a National Competitiveness Action Plan to improve infrastructure and reduce the cost of doing business, which would include the following elements:

 

• A reduction in all Government and local authority charges of roughly 5%;

 

• A reduction of Government regulated prices like telecoms and energy;

 

• A PRSI waiver for new jobs;

 

• The implementation of Fine Gael’s NewERA plan to improve energy and telecoms infrastructure across the State;

 

• No further reduction in the capital budget; and the

 

• Introduction of emergency measures to save jobs and retrain the unemployed such as work-sharing, internships and second chance education.

 

FG to propose strategy at Oireachtas Committee tomorrow

Speaking this week at the start of the Chinese New Year, Fine Gael Trade Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD proposed a ten year strategy to boost trade between Ireland and China and other Asian countries which could treble trade levels to €20 billion a year and create thousands of new jobs.

Deputy Varadkar, who will raise the proposal at tomorrow’s (Tuesday) meeting of the Oireachtas Enterprise Committee, said the Government’s Asia Strategy 1999-2009 expired last year and has not been renewed.

“The ten year Asia Strategy ran from 1999-2009 and was a real success. In 2008, the last year for which full year statistics are available, trade between China and Ireland was worth €7.3 billion. Trade with Chinese-speaking Singapore is worth €1.7 billion and trade with Taiwan is worth over €1.2 billion. Trade with India has lagged behind and was worth less than €1 billion in 2008.

“Trade makes everyone richer but in the absence of a new Asia Strategy for 2010 to 2020, the future does not look bright. The Government needs to focus on increasing opportunities for trade between Ireland and Asia. We cannot cut or tax our way out of recession. We must trade and grow our way out of recession. China and India will be the economic superpowers of the 21st century and we must position Ireland to gain from this massive shift in global economic power which is now well underway.”

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Irish consumers are still paying a premium for goods and services when compared to other EU countries, in spite of some evidence of falling grocery prices, Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD has said.

Deputy Varadkar said indications of falling prices and greater competition in the grocery sector are encouraging, but that prices are still higher than what consumers should have to pay. He called on the Government to immediately adopt Fine Gael’s proposals to tackle the rip-off and set up a consumer watchdog with real teeth.

Speaking after the Competition Authority published its report on the retail sector, Deputy Varadkar said: ‘Rip-off Ireland is alive and well, no matter how many reports are published by the Competition Authority. Although the impact of the recession has managed to bring down the price of some groceries, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately, the exodus of shoppers to Northern Ireland will continue as long as the Tánaiste fails to address Ireland’s astronomical cost base and refuses to set up a consumer watchdog with real teeth’.

Fine Gael’s proposals to tackle Rip-off Ireland were set out in Finding Real Value. They include plans to merge the National Consumer Agency and the Competition Authority into an Irish Fair Trading Authority. The Government has adopted this policy but has made no move to set it up.

Deputy Varadkar also urged the Government to take long-overdue steps to drive down business costs, which have been cited by both the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Council, and have severely damaged Ireland’s international competitiveness.
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Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD has welcomed IBEC’s endorsement of Fine Gael’s policy to call for a national pay freeze, as announced by the Party’s Leader Enda Kenny last November.

“Last November, Enda Kenny called for the suspension of the national pay deal through 2009. Deputy Kenny subsequently said the pay freeze should cover 2010 as well. Support from other quarters was not forthcoming. Four months later, the construction industry has withdrawn from Partnership and IBEC has now called for the pay deal to be suspended. …[more]

Last week, Fine Gael devoted its Private Members time to a motion on the current unemployment crisis. My speech on the debate can be found below the fold, while the debate in full can be accessed from the Oireachtas website (the debate was over Tuesday and Wednesday).

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Fine Gael’s Spokesman on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD, today (Sunday) said the 2008 IDA survey of multi-nationals based in Ireland has been released to Fine Gael under the Freedom of Information Act.

“This survey reveals that 45 percent of multinationals based in Ireland would not come here again. The survey cites high costs and poor infrastructure as the main reasons. …[more]

Govt fingered on competitiveness as Ireland languishes in 22nd place – Varadkar

The World Economic Forum has pointed the finger of blame firmly at the Fianna Fáil Government for Ireland’s poor performance in the latest Global Competitiveness Report, Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD has said.

“Ireland is stuck in 22nd place in the World Economic Forum’s competitiveness rankings with the Fianna Fáil Government taking the lion’s share of the blame. The report is scathing about the ‘three Is’ which are holding Ireland back: inadequate infrastructure, high inflation, and inefficient Government bureaucracy. …[more]

Today’s report from NCB on the state of the Irish manufacturing sector suggests that the Irish economy could already be in recession, according to Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD.

“Fianna Fáil and Brian Cowen in particular could have used the last ten years to lay the foundation for future growth by investing in infrastructure and education and by preparing Ireland for a downturn. Instead they squandered the boom through massive public spending increases that did not deliver any improvements in public services, refused to engage in serious public sector reform, and did nothing to arrest the appalling slide in economic competitiveness. …[more]

As Fine Gael Spokesperon on Enterprise, Trade and Employment I introduced the Fine Gael motion on the Competitiveness of the Economy. Please find my speech below. The debate, including speeches from a number of my Fine Gael colleagues can be found online on December 4th and December 5th.

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On the 4th and 5th of December, reflecting the change in economic circumstances and Ireland’s decreasing economic competitiveness internationally the Fine Gael part proposed the following motion.

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