Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, launched another round of the regional enterprise development fund last Monday in Cavan. It is worth €45 million. As we did in the past, I encourage more companies in the mid-west to apply for that funding. We have seen the success of it with the Emerald Aero Group, when Clare companies and Limerick companies got together to pool their engineering skills so that they could bid with companies such as Bombardier and Boeing. The Deputy is right that clusters are important. We have seen the success of some in the medical technology sector recently. Edwards Lifesciences created nearly 600 jobs. Johnson & Johnson added to its company in Limerick, increasing its complement there by 100 jobs. That facility in Limerick is the biggest contact lens facility in the world. We should be proud of those achievements. In the Deputy's area, we have seen Croom Precision Medical increase the number of jobs. Much is happening in the mid-west region and it will continue into the future with the focus on innovation and ensuring that we upskill people.

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