Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Ebay first put down roots in Ireland in 2003 with 25 staff.

4 o’clock

In April 2013, it opened its international operations centre in Dundalk, which was a massive boost for the area. At the time, the president of PayPal, Mr. David Marcus, described the company's relationship with Ireland as an everlasting honeymoon and the Dundalk facility as being the heart of eBay. I hope the Minister will today confirm that this still is so and that it wishes to remain there. The company had plans to grow to 450 staff in Dundalk at the time. We are all aware of the division of eBay and PayPal. We are appreciative of the value that this leading company, PayPal, has been to Dundalk and the surrounding districts of Drogheda, Newry and Dublin. I am advised that the company wishes to utilise the space currently being occupied by the eBay side of the business and, hopefully, this will result in additional employment at PayPal.

I believe that eBay has viewed properties in the area that are suitable for its operation and I have confirmation of that from leading auctioneers. There is a strong belief in the area that, although such accommodation is available in the Dundalk and Drogheda area, eBay has been induced by State institutions, with no doubt a little political coaxing, to consider places such as Sligo and Castlebar as options, and perhaps I should throw Athlone into the mix also. Regrettably, I cannot seem to get confirmation to the contrary from any company or State body to confirm or deny this rumour. Nor can I get such confirmation from some of my colleagues in this House who may well be better informed than other Deputies at this stage. A constituency colleague in the Government from my local town has caused alarm by admitting to the media that he has known about this for more than eight weeks, as has the Minister. Will the Minister assure this House that IDA Ireland and its senior management have not used a range of methods such as grants, employment incentives, credits and discounts to move eBay from its present location to another area of the country?

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Tá mé buíoch don Cheann Comhairle mar thug sé an seans dom ceist a chur faoin obair thábhachtach seo. Tá a lán daoine i nDún Dealgan, go háirithe lucht oibre eBay agus PayPal agus a dteaghlaigh, buartha faoi na ráflaí faoi jabanna sa dhá háit seo. Más féidir leis an Aire a bheith soiléir faoi seo, bheadh a lán daoine níos sásta i nDún Dealgan. There are a lot of rumours about the future of eBay, which employs 200 people, and its revenue. It shares a site at the Xerox Technology Park with PayPal, although it parted company with it two years ago. It is a highly successful business and its revenue is expected to be in the region of $2.2 billion. In February 2013, eBay announced it was creating 450 jobs in Dundalk with the establishment of its new European operations centre.

There is a lot of speculation about the future intentions of eBay. These could be entirely without foundation, but it has been suggested that because of the separation of PayPal and eBay the latter now needs its own site. Workers, local businesses and families are understandably worried about the uncertainty. Will the Minister clarify the situation, end this damaging speculation and give firm assurances that these jobs and projects, which have benefited people not just in Dundalk but right across the Border up into County Down, will stay there and that the Minister and IDA Ireland are focused on ensuring that this is the case?

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I would like to thank the Deputies for raising this Topical Issue. I also thank Deputies Fergus O'Dowd and Peter Fitzpatrick, who have raised it with me also. As they will know from my statement in the Dáil yesterday in response to Deputies Martin and Adams, I have been in touch with the CEO of IDA Ireland to discuss the concerns of both the employees and other stakeholders in the Dundalk area.

In September 2014 it was announced that eBay and PayPal would split into two entities by 2015. The official split happened on 17 July 2015 and both companies began trading as separate entities on 20 July. I understand that the two entities wish to operate from separate premises and, to facilitate this, IDA Ireland is working with eBay to find a suitable premises. My concern is to ensure that eBay stays in Ireland and, therefore, I have asked IDA Ireland to work with the company to facilitate it in any way possible in finding a suitable premises in which its operation can continue here. However, the final decision lies with the company alone.

As part of my remit in the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, I am responsible for driving regional development. I wish to ensure that we have a good spread of jobs countrywide and away from the greater Dublin area. Dundalk has done very well in recent years in attracting foreign direct investment, and that is a testament to all the hard work done in making Dundalk an attractive place to do business. In fact, County Louth stands out among the Border counties for its successes in job creation, with 21 IDA Ireland companies supporting 3,245 jobs. This has been a real success story for IDA Ireland. As a further example of this progress, in June 2014 PayPal announced that it would add two new strategic functions, with the employment of an additional 400 people at the Dundalk site to support business growth in North America and global credit functions support in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The addition of these 400 new jobs will bring total employment at PayPal in Dundalk to 1,400 by 2017. Recruitment for these new positions has already started.

Since my appointment as Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, my focus has been on driving forward the regional action plans. The north east north west action plan, which includes County Louth, was launched last November and aims to increase employment in the region by 10% to 15% over the period to 2020, resulting in the delivery of 28,000 additional jobs. Other key targets of the action plan include increasing the number of start-ups by at least 25% through targeted initiatives and programmes to support enterprise, and increasing the number of IDA Ireland investments by between 30% and 40% to 2019. While these are ambitious targets, they are also achievable and well thought out. The agencies under my remit will continue to strive to facilitate the needs of both multinationals and indigenous companies to maintain existing jobs and increase the number of new ones while also ensuring a good spread of employment throughout the regions.

Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for her response and note that she used the words "facilitate" and "stays in Ireland". I also recognise eBay's right to make its own decision. I put it that the reason the region has been doing so well is a result of the work of the local authority, the Louth Economic Forum, the Chamber of Commerce and the presence of Dundalk Institute of Technology in the region. However, the Minister has not answered my question. I put it to her categorically that I want an assurance that neither IDA Ireland nor its management is using a range of methods to attract investment to various regions that are contrary to what should be happening in the development of industry in Ireland - namely, inducements to people from outside these regions. All I am looking for is a fair playing field and for eBay to recognise, as it did from the start, that Dundalk is at the heart of its operations and decide, given the workforce in Dundalk and the development that has taken place, not to move on. We all recognise that PayPal will expand and that is great. The bottom line for most of the Oireachtas Members and the people of the region is that we want to retain eBay and expand PayPal. Everyone benefits from that regional approach.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for her answer and note her statement that she wishes to ensure that eBay stays in Ireland. I do not think that is an issue. There is no question of its moving.

Dundalk is an area of considerable disadvantage but it has a very innovative and skilled workforce and lots of local leaders from the Institute of Technology, the economic forum, the local chambers and Louth County Council. It lies on the main corridor between Belfast and Dublin and is close to the airports and is in the Border region. There are other sites close to or in Dundalk and, while the Minister says it is up to the company to take its own decision, it can be influenced, as it was in the first instance to locate in Dundalk. I ask the Minister to look at the particular needs of this area and the success of this project and to give an assurance that she will do her utmost to ensure it stays where it is at the moment, or at least in the general Dundalk area.

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I absolutely will do that. I have spoken with the CEO of IDA Ireland which is working with eBay to find a suitable premises. My concern is that eBay stays in Ireland so I have asked IDA Ireland to work with the company to facilitate it. The IDA has organised five site visits by foreign companies to County Louth in 2016 and it will continue to do that.

Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.