Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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13. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the measures she is taking to address the below average growth of foreign direct investment job creation, the lack of progress in stimulating indigenous industry and the deficit of IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland activity in County Wexford; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43170/17]

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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As the Tánaiste is probably aware, the south east is the only region not meeting the Action Plan for Jobs target of bringing unemployment to within 1% of the national average. Within the south east, Wexford is performing worst of all the counties. In 2015, only 2.4% of the net IDA Ireland supported jobs created were in the south east despite the region making up almost 11% of the population. In 2016, the figure was 5.7%, which is still well short of 10.7%. The figures for Wexford are probably the worst in the country. Does the Minister have any direct action plans to deal with Wexford itself or will it continue to be lost in an underperforming south-east region?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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It is important to examine precisely what has been happening in recent times. It suggests that the initiatives that are under way are having an impact. There has been a substantial increase in job creation in the region since the commencement of the national Action Plan for Jobs in 2012, with an additional 33,600 in employment in the second quarter of 2017. As the Deputy knows, the unemployment rate in Wexford has decreased from 16,170 in 2011 to 11,478 in 2016, a reduction of almost 5,000 people.

Clearly, more work remains to be done. I take the Deputy's point on the comparison with the average rate of unemployment. A lot of work is going on. There is a strong base of agency supported jobs in the county. Currently, 2,630 people are employed in IDA Ireland supported companies, 4,816 in Enterprise Ireland client companies and 1,192 in local enterprise office supported businesses. Considerably more than 8,000 people are in agency supported employment in County Wexford.

Many things are moving in the right direction but I take the Deputy's point, he wants to see an acceleration of those actions. I refer to the continuing work by indigenous companies, which have a strong presence in County Wexford. Enterprise Ireland-supported companies in the county employed almost 5,000 people. It also supports two community enterprise centres. These serve as important enterprise hubs. Local enterprise continues to perform well. The local enterprise office in Wexford successfully secured funding for five projects under Enterprise Ireland's competitive fund. These projects will begin to create more jobs in the period ahead. Two other projects from within the county were also awarded funding under Enterprise Ireland’s community enterprise initiative scheme.

Looking ahead, I assure the Deputy that IDA Ireland is targeting an increase of investment in the south-east region of 30% to 40% by 2019. It is focusing on the region and will work with companies which come to Wexford.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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I have been listening to replies such as this since before the Minister's time. The fact remains that over 16% of the labour force in Wexford is still on the live register. Most of the jobs that have come on stream in the past 18 months have been part-time and of low quality. Low job quality is holding the region back severely. Income tax returns for Wexford and the south-east region are half the national average on a pro ratabasis. How shocking is that? There is huge underemployment in the region.

Recently, Dr. Ray Griffin of Waterford Institute of Technology was asked why things are still so problematic in places in the south east. He was talking about the south-east region, but County Wexford is by far the worst off of the counties in the south east. He said there are two main drivers of these problems. He said the weak labour market is driven by very low levels of educational attainment and poor service from the national agencies tasked with enterprise development. He says that it is national policy and that one can see that it is an unfavoured region. I am not blaming the Minister, as she has just started in the job, but specific help is required not just in the south east in general, but in Wexford in particular. The Minister knows I am not a parish pump merchant but when I canvassed during the last election two years ago, I went to approximately 20,000 houses and I was shocked at the level of poverty in the county. Wexford needs strong, specific help or it will remain in the doldrums. The N11 is packed with cars filled with fellas driving to the building sites in Dublin for work. There is no work in Wexford.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Time has expired but I will allow the Minister to respond.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. He is too good.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Obviously work needs to be done on an ongoing basis, but more than 13,000 people have returned to work in the south-east region since the launch of the regional action plans initiative in the first quarter of 2015. That is a central pillar. We need a continued focus on the situation the Deputy has described through the regional action plans. The initiatives which are in place have shown results, as can be seen from the figures in respect of people who have become employed but there is still work to be done.

With regard to the institutes of technology, the Technological Universities Bill will be important because it has been shown that things come together when there is such engagement between universities and the technology sector and when young people are provided with the skills necessary for work in foreign direct investment supported companies. Work needs to be done on an ongoing basis. The Action Plan for Jobs will continue to focus on the initiatives which are needed to ensure continued job creation. I expect we will see the improvements which we have already seen being replicated in the period ahead given all the indicators in terms of continued foreign direct investment in Ireland and the indigenous business sector. We are seeing job creation from our own indigenous base here all of the time. I have no doubt that County Wexford will benefit from that, as have other counties.