Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Like the Deputy, I recognise the great work the local enterprise offices do. I am committed to supporting them. The increase in budget 2019 of €5 million was considerable and it was very much welcomed.

With regard to the Deputy's area, Enterprise Ireland-supported job announcements in 2017 and 2018 in the mid-west included 80 jobs in CAE Parc Aviation in Shannon and Dublin in May 2017, 150 jobs in H&MV Engineering in Limerick in January 2018, and 18 jobs in Croom Precision in Limerick in July 2018. Enterprise Ireland client companies saw an increase in employment in the mid-west of 7% in 2017 by comparison with the national average of 5%. Only last Monday, I announced the regional enterprise development fund. In that, there was €1.7 million for a project in County Clare concerning the Shannon Estuary with a view to providing specialist infrastructure for maritime related training and field research support. This helps the indigenous companies to consider more innovation and research. We need to support our indigenous companies with research and development.

See this speech in context