Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

35. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation when the IDA last visited counties Cavan and Monaghan; the number of new jobs which have been created by the IDA in the past 12 months; the measures being taken to attract companies to each county; the success it has had with this strategy for each county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6017/18]

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister on her appointment to a portfolio that is important to the Border area. It is wonderful to see her, as a Border Minister, in the position.

Will the Minister make a statement on the number of new jobs that have been created by IDA Ireland over the past 12 months, the measures being taken to attract companies to each of the counties, Cavan and Monaghan, and the success it has had within the strategy for each county?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for her question and for her good wishes. As Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation and as a Deputy from Cavan-Monaghan, this topic is very close to my heart. Regional development is a key priority of mine and I am focused on increasing investment in every county in Ireland. IDA Ireland shares this objective and I am pleased that its results for 2017 show that half of all jobs created last year were for locations outside Dublin. Every region in Ireland, including the Border region, posted net gains in jobs last year and there are now over 122,000 people employed across 649 firms in IDA Ireland client companies outside of Dublin. I look forward to working closely with the agency and across Government to grow those numbers further in 2018.

More generally, the north-east-north-west regional action plan for jobs is the key policy response for supporting employment growth in the Border region, including in Cavan and Monaghan. Sectors targeted as part of the plan include the region’s traditional strengths such as agrifood, manufacturing and engineering, and tourism, including active promotion of the Lakelands region. The core objective of the plan is to see a further 28,000 people at work in the region by 2020 and to reduce the unemployment rate to within one percentage point of the State average. The efforts by the stakeholders involved in the plan are paying off with 12,000 additional jobs in the Border region since the regional initiative was launched in November 2015. This represents good progress towards the target of 28,000 jobs for the region by 2020. I am also pleased that live register numbers for Counties Cavan and Monaghan have fallen by over 15% in the past 12 months. However, despite this progress, there are some regions that lag behind, particularly in terms of attracting foreign direct investment, FDI, and there is obviously more work to be done in the Border area. In 2017, there were 12 IDA Ireland client companies employing a total of 1,305 people in Cavan and Monaghan. It is a priority for me as Minister and IDA Ireland to grow these numbers in the coming years and the agency has committed to increasing investment in each region in Ireland, including in the Border region, by 30% to 40% by 2019.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Of the 507 visits nationwide in 2017, Cavan and Monaghan had four visits. In 2018, there will be three IDA Ireland visits to the constituency of Cavan-Monaghan. Dublin had 247 visits. The Minister referred to regional balance and I hope she will aim to correct the current imbalance. There seems to be a disproportionate concentration in non-rural areas and the more urban areas, which confirms a skewed Government policy. With the national planning framework coming down the tracks and Brexit looming, counties like Cavan and Monaghan need to see the disproportionate focus on urban areas refocused on more regional areas and concentrated on areas like Cavan and Monaghan.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

IDA Ireland has a dedicated regional manager for the north-east-north-west region and has an office in the Cavan Innovation and Technology Centre. As part of its strategy to encourage investment to the area, the agency is focusing on sectors including agrifood, manufacturing, tourism, internationally traded services and clean tech. IDA Ireland also regularly engages with key stakeholders on the ground in Cavan and Monaghan, including with local authorities, public bodies, the education sector and companies from both its own client base and the indigenous sector. IDA Ireland owns lands in both Cavan and Monaghan that are currently available for investment. I am pleased in this regard that IDA Ireland is finalising a concept master plan for the IDA Ireland business park in Monaghan and is also progressing with a proposed joint initiative with Monaghan County Council regarding possible planning permission for technology units on the park to assist with marketing the location.

It is important to emphasise that FDI only forms one part of investment in regional locations.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The figures are crucial to all of this. I accept it is before the Minister's time, but hopefully with the Minister in the position now, as a Border Minister, she will be able to deliver. The facts are that in 2012 Dublin had a huge number of visits and we had three; in 2013, we had two; in 2014, we had one; in 2015, we had none; and in 2016, we had two. In 2012, Monaghan had no visits; in 2013, it had one; in 2014, it had none; in 2015, it had two; and in 2016, it had two. I ask the Minister to ensure that in 2018 and 2019, the national planning framework increases those numbers. We have two vacant sites. There is one in Cavan and I appreciate the Minister has appointed somebody with responsibility for the region. There is also a vacant site in Monaghan. Since the beginning of my time on Cavan County Council in 2009, there was a constant battle with IDA Ireland to make Cavan and Monaghan places that are exemplary in attracting new businesses.

I ask that the site visits for 2018 and thereafter increase from the abysmal figures I have just mentioned.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Deputy about the number of visits to Cavan and Monaghan. I want to support Cavan and Monaghan, but I also want to support the Border region in every way I can. There will certainly be a strong focus on job creation in the region. Last week, I met the CEs of Monaghan, Cavan, Louth and Meath county councils along with senior officials from IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and my Department to establish ways in which we can work collaboratively to attract FDI because we have a lot to offer. I also want to support indigenous industry and look at how the four counties can work together to attract funding through the regional development fund. I have had that meeting and I intend to meet the CEs in the north-west region to see how we can shine a light on the Border region which, I accept, is lagging behind. The Deputy can rest assured that I have been doing everything I can to increase job creation in the area.