Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The numbers in the south east are good. Having been in relentless decline, employment numbers stabilised in the year to quarter 2 of 2012, with an increase of just 1,500. That trend was repeated the following year, with 1,700, and in the year to the second quarter of 2014, with 10,800. That is a good, solid improvement which was also reflected in a steady decline in the number of unemployed persons over those periods. Unemployment is down 9,000 in the most recent 12 months, which corresponds to the trend in employment. There is a positive story in the regions, but not all regions are progressing on the same basis. Not all regions start from the same level of advantage. There is absolutely a case for a regional approach.

We put a spotlight on Waterford and examined its strengths in the south east and looked at what sectors we should focus on. We have been fortunate in that the pharmaceutical sector, which is a strength in the south east, has come back somewhat and has been performing well, so we have been able to win significant investment in the pharmaceutical and medical devices areas. Therefore, it is no surprise that the two gains were in Nypro and West Pharma, a company which was already in Dublin and was able to find the skills it required here. Development is starting with companies that already have a presence in Ireland and looking at where they might expand. We are playing to the strength we had. Nypro had been in Waterford previously and had that experience. Clearly, having a company which had worked successfully previously is always a positive sale. We also look at companies that are expanding and at property solutions, which is why we have invested in an advance facility.

We try to ensure that the message gets out throughout the system that we are seeking to promote this area and we highlight its competitive strengths. How we do this is in a mixture of ways. The IDA strategy is to diversify, but it has not yet been able to reach the regional targets set for it. As I indicated when we looked at the spending plans, it has done better this year than last year and last year was an improvement on the previous year. There is now a better regional spread in the IDA. Generally, the Enterprise Ireland spread is much better. Some 75% of investment there is outside of Dublin.

While I do not wish to dwell on one company, Ribworld is fresh in my mind. The CEO of Ribworld participated in an Enterprise Ireland Leadership 4 Growth programme specially designated for the food sector and delivered by some of the best people in Lucerne. This CEO attributes the ambition of the company to having had that experience. Ribworld has had intensive support from Enterprise Ireland's Lean programme also. It examines the process and as one can imagine, Ribworld is in an extremely cost competitive sector. It is in food processing of pork ribs, pulled pork and so on and there is keen bidding to get into the Aldis and Lidls of this world. The company has the processes down to a T now and it is also innovative. Enterprise Ireland has supported Ribworld in innovation. It has a high class chef who has worked at the highest level who is part of the innovation team. Ribworld is ticking the right boxes - leadership, Lean, innovation and the ambition to go global and it uses Enterprise Ireland's resources in the markets it supplies.

The supports exist and a number of companies with ambition are making progress. These companies are all over the country and not confined to any one region. We need to get more involved in that. This year, we have targeted manufacturing as a sector for a step up. We have seen a number of companies, particularly in the food sector, make a step up and there has been an increased flow of Enterprise Ireland into these companies in response to the openings for these companies to become global players, rather than sell just to the Irish or UK market.