Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 30 together.

I believe we can achieve a record number of 2.5 million people at work in Ireland by 2024. That means full employment and a job for everyone who wants one. It also means ensuring job opportunities in all parts of Ireland in order to achieve balanced regional development.

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and its agencies have a strong role to play in this agenda through direct assistance to businesses, as well as promotion and enhancement of regional locations as places for businesses to invest and create jobs. Enterprise Ireland is targeting 45,000 jobs over the next three years, while Industrial Development Authority, IDA, Ireland has made progress in boosting investment in regional locations. In 2021, of the 249 investments secured by the IDA, over half were for locations outside Dublin.

The local enterprise offices, LEOs, are at the very heart of business development and entrepreneurship in towns and communities across all regions. The LEOs have just come out of an eighth consecutive year of growth with 7,400 new jobs created by LEO clients in 2021. We will also make sure that town centre first policy, a policy that focuses on regeneration of rural towns and villages, aligns with our plans as a Department. The new regional enterprise plans to 2024 reinforce and build on the core activities of the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, the LEOs and other State bodies involved in enterprise development.

Up to €180 million is being made available over the next few years to develop and implement collaborative and innovative enterprise projects that will not just sustain, but add to employment at county, regional and national level. To create a strong pipeline of projects for future funding calls, Enterprise Ireland has also announced a new competitive priming and feasibility scheme of up to €5 million. This scheme has just closed for applications.

We want the main regional centres to develop as viable alternatives for investment, with significant funding being channelled through the Project Ireland 2040. The national broadband plan and the potential of remote working also opens up new opportunities for enterprise in rural locations.

As the Deputy is aware, in 2020, Harmac Medical Products announced a major investment in its facility at Castlerea to accelerate the manufacturing of surgical masks and non-invasive ventilation products, creating 60 new roles. I understand that all of these roles have now been filled. In 2021, an Enterprise Ireland client company, namely, Chanelle Pharma, announced plans for 60 jobs in Ballinasloe and a €5 million investment in the old Aptar facility.

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