Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

One of the headline targets of A Programme for partnership Government is to deliver sustainable full employment across all regions of the country with 200,000 jobs to be created by 2020, 135,000 of which will be outside Dublin. The Government is working hard to achieve the most even possible distribution of foreign direct investment across the country. IDA Ireland is focused on that goal and is targeting an increase in investment of 30% to 40% in every region as part of its strategy for the period 2015 to 2019. Significant progress is being made towards these objectives, with 45% of all new IDA Ireland client company jobs created last year being outside Dublin. There are now over 122,000 people employed across 649 firms in IDA Ireland client companies outside the capital.

IDA Ireland markets Meath as part of its mid-east region, which also incorporates Kildare and Wicklow. The wider area is home to 56 multinational companies, 17 of which are located in Meath. In terms of direct investment in the form of grant aid, a total of €1.84 million has been paid to IDA Ireland client companies in Meath since 2013. There has been some significant investment in the county in past two years, with Shire announcing plans to expand its global biotechnology manufacturing capacity over the next four years. It is expected that this will lead to the creation of approximately 400 permanent jobs at Piercetown, County Meath. This news followed Facebook’s announcement in January 2016 of the construction of a new data centre in Clonee. Construction for the €200 million data centre is currently taking place with over 1,000 workers now on site daily.

The county’s proximity to transport hubs and population centres is among its key strengths. IDA Ireland is working hard to secure new investment for Meath and it continues to draw the attention of investors to the county.

It should also be emphasised that foreign direct investment only forms one part of investment in regional locations. Indigenous enterprise is responsible for a significant portion of employment growth, especially outside Dublin. Enterprise Ireland-supported companies continue to perform well in the regions, with a 5% increase in employment reported in Meath in 2017. Enterprise Ireland has approximately 500 client companies in the mid-east region with 170 of these located in County Meath, employing some 7,300 people. Enterprise Ireland has invested almost €8 million in the period from 2014 to 2017 in these companies. Last year, Enterprise Ireland supported companies created 650 jobs in Meath. When losses are taken into account, a net gain of 309 jobs was recorded. This is an increase of 4.2% on 2016. Some key Enterprise Ireland client companies include Kepak, Nurendale, Largo Foods, Kilsaran Concrete and Xtratherm. In June, with the support of Enterprise Ireland, I announced College Group’s €10 million expansion with the construction of a new biofuel facility in Nobber, with the creation of 90 construction jobs and an additional 25 long-term job opportunities for graduates. Enterprise Ireland also co-funded the establishment of three community enterprise centres in County Meath. In January 2016, we launched the mid-east action plan for jobs to support enterprise and employment across Kildare, Meath and Wicklow. This plan aims to increase employment in the region by 10% to 15% by 2020, resulting in the delivery of 31,500 jobs.

Substantial progress is being made in the mid-east. Since the start of 2015, 22,800 more people are in employment in the region. The mid-east now has an unemployment rate of 5.4%, lower than the State rate of 5.7%. In 2017, Enterprise Ireland jobs increased by 4% in the mid-east while IDA Ireland jobs across the region grew by 6%.

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