Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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6. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of visits by the IDA to County Meath; and if she is satisfied with the level of IDA investment in County Meath. [49464/17]

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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I want to raise the question of the number of IDA site visits to County Meath. I have not specified a year in the question, but I am sure the Minister can give me information. I also want to ask about the level of investment and grant aid in County Meath.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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We are fully committed to the creation of high-quality and sustainable employment across Ireland, including in County Meath. The Mid-East Action Plan for Jobs is a key policy response for supporting employment growth in this region, including County Meath, with public and private stakeholders actively engaged in delivering the range of innovative and practical actions set out in the plan.  The core objective of the plan is to see a further 25,000 at work in the region by 2020 and to reduce the unemployment rate to within 1% of the State average.

The first two progress reports on the implementation of the action plan show that good progress continues to be made in implementing the actions. The second progress report highlighted actions of specific benefit to Meath, such as the fit-out of Kells Tech Hub, using REDZ funding, to provide shared services and hot desking facilities. In addition, Meath Enterprise was awarded funding under the Enterprise Ireland Community Enterprise Initiative to develop the Boyne Valley Food Hub.

There are now 12,800 more people at work across Meath, Kildare, and Wicklow since the launch of the regional action plan for jobs initiative in quarter 1 of 2015. The unemployment rate in the region has also dropped to 5.8%, lower than the State average of 6.4%.

I am also determined to grow foreign direct investment, FDI, driven job creation further outside of our main urban areas. I am pleased that significant progress has been made towards achieving the IDA's target of a 30% to 40% increase in FDI in every region outside Dublin, including the Mid-East.

There are currently 17 IDA client companies located in County Meath employing close to 1,500 people. This year has seen some significant investments in the county, with Shire announcing plans to expand its global biotechnology manufacturing capacity over the next four years. It is expected this will lead to the creation of approximately 400 permanent jobs on a 120 acre site at Piercetown, County Meath. This news followed Facebook’s announcement in January of the construction of a new data centre in Clonee, County Meath. Construction for the €200 million data centre is taking place, with more than 1,000 workers on site daily.

The IDA continues to highlight the benefits of expanding or locating in County Meath to its client base and it makes every effort to ensure that FDI is spread as widely as possible throughout the country. Since 2016, there have been nine site visits to the county. While site visits can be a useful indicator of new investment interest, they are not by any means indicative of the potential for FDI in an area. I point out in this regard that at least 70% of investment comes from existing IDA clients.

While the IDA always highlights the benefits of investing in the regions to prospective investors, determining which particular sites may be attractive to a client depends very much on the particular requirements of the firm concerned. Factors that are also important for overseas investors include the suitability of local infrastructure, the proximity of transport hubs and the availability of skilled talent. Multinational companies ultimately decide for themselves whether they want to operate in the area.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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I also welcome the investment by Shire, Facebook and other companies in the Clonee and Dunboyne regions. It is very important and is certainly a vote of confidence in that area. What I am concerned about is that while the Minister of State mentioned the Kells Tech Hub, and I welcome the investment that has gone into that, there was no IDA financial investment in Meath in 2016. It was one of three counties which got no IDA investment, the others being Roscommon and Leitrim. Meath is vastly bigger than Leitrim and considerably bigger than Roscommon, and it has considerable advantages in terms of promoting industry. What is the Minister doing for Kells? A number of year ago Kells was designated as an area which could qualify for State aid for employment, yet there was no funding from the IDA for it last year. There is an IDA business park outside Drogheda which has had one company in it for a considerable period, but on the whole it is completely empty. That is in County Meath too. It is not acceptable. I do not think that the IDA is putting enough emphasis on other parts of the county. Clonee and Dunboyne are standing on their own two feet, as it were, because of their location and get by with support from the IDA, but with little financial investment. Other areas need that support, in particular Kells and the business park outside Drogheda. What on earth is going on with that?

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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The IDA is only one element of job creation. It is a very important element and has been an important part of the job creation in County Meath. Meath is very near to Dublin. Clonee is on the border with the county. I also point out the importance of the indigenous sector in County Meath. The number of people employed in that sector has grown substantially over recent years. There has been an increase of 41%, and there are now almost 7,000 people employed in the indigenous sector there by Enterprise Ireland companies. That has to be put in the context of job creation in the county. While FDI is extremely important, a lot of indigenous and start up companies come out of that. Enterprise Ireland has a very important role in that. The local enterprise offices, LEOs, are also playing an important role throughout County Meath.

The Deputy has outlined the situation in Kells. I do not have exact numbers but I will ensure that they are passed on to the Deputy. It is important that there is regional balance throughout the county. The LEOs should be highlighted as they are a first-stop shop for people who want to start companies. In 2016, they created approximately 927 jobs there throughout the county. It is a matter of looking at the context, with the FDI, IDA, Enterprise Ireland and LEO jobs. I take on board the Deputy's concerns about business parks.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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I accept what the Minister of State is saying about the indigenous sector being important, but the question was about FDI and the role of the IDA in funding that. It is a fact that there was no funding invested by Government through the IDA in Meath last year. It is also a fact that there is a business park which is owned by the IDA outside Drogheda, in County Meath which is almost empty, apart from one very important industry. It is also a fact that the Kells area was designated for Government support, yet last year nothing came through the IDA. That is not to say that there is nothing else happening in Kells, but the IDA needs to have a much greater focus on County Meath and support it financially. There are parts of the county that will stand on their own two feet, so to speak, and which are doing really well, and we are very proud of those towns and everyone who puts the work in to achieve that, including the IDA. We must not forget about other parts of the county where support is needed and where we really need FDI. We have a history of FDI. We want to continue that and bring more industries into the county.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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I take the Deputy's points on board. We have to look at the fact that since 2016 there have been nine site visits to County Meath by the IDA. There are some flagship companies in Clonee, and there is a €200 million investment by Facebook happening there at the minute. That is a very important and significant investment. The Tánaiste spoke about it earlier when she discussed data centres. That investment is strategically very important. The one disadvantage that Meath has, which other counties surrounding Dublin also have, is that sometimes people commute out of the county into the capital city. That can be a disadvantage. At the same time Meath is an important location for FDI, particularly when it comes to quality of life and the availability of housing as well. I will emphasise to the IDA the importance of the issues that the Deputy has raised today, but the fact is that there have been nine site visits since 2016. Companies are growing, particularly the foreign companies in the county, and sometimes they increase their workforce without the fanfare that some companies want. That is a strategic decision taken by the company itself. Meath has done really well, but the Deputy is obviously concerned about the regional towns. It is important that we invest in those too.