Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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64. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the steps that he is taking to support job creation in regional towns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58142/22]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The Government has set out a target of having 50% of jobs outside Dublin. While it is achieving that, the difficulty is that the vast majority of jobs are still located in cities and that the provincial towns are losing out, in particular on foreign direct investment. What are we going to do to address that?

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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There are a couple of questions in this space, so the answers are pretty similar. I know the Deputy has already had a discussion with the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, but I will try to add to that. Delivering balanced regional growth and job creation is a core objective of this Government and the Deputy is aware that it is something we are committed to. We want to try to help as best we possibly can. It is a key component in the recently published White Paper on Enterprise 2022-2030, which sets out enterprise policy and high-end thinking for the next five or six years out to 2030 and beyond.

The White Paper emphasises the role my Department and its agencies continue to play in achieving this objective through direct assistance to businesses as well as promotion and enhancement of the regional enterprise ecosystem to encourage businesses to invest and create jobs. For example, it includes a target of unemployment not exceeding one percentage point of the national unemployment rate in any region.

Enterprise Ireland has a continued focus on supporting enterprise in all regions to adapt to a challenging market environment, and on maximising job retention and creation. Enterprise Ireland's strategy has set targets of creating 45,000 new jobs by 2024 and that over two thirds of new jobs will be created outside Dublin.

Regional development is at the centre of IDA Ireland's strategy. IDA Ireland is also committed to more balanced compact regional development and will target half of all its investments from 2021 to 2024 to regional locations. The results out this week will show success in achieving that regional balance, albeit not into every town and village that you would ask, but there is regional balance. Local enterprise offices are a key part of achieving what we all want to achieve. At the heart of this is development and entrepreneurship in our towns and communities throughout the country. The LEOs will continue to enhance their advisory services with locally trading firms to improve productivity particularly around digitisation and reducing energy and carbon emissions, as well as supports. The key strategy by which we can make progress is on the regional enterprise plans. We are now into their third iteration. Deputy Naughten is involved with counties Mayo, Galway and Roscommon. Thankfully there are nine regional plans in place. They are locally driven by local entrepreneurs involved with the State agencies locally across all the education, social protection, Enterprise Ireland, EI, LEOs, local authorities and so on. They are in charge of bringing forward their own plans. Money has been secured to drive those ideas and concepts such as hubs or other situations also in the sum of €145 million to drive that agenda. I am happy to work with Deputy Naughten on some initiatives, as the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, also said to bring forward job opportunities in his town.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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In Project Ireland 2040, we set out a hub and spoke strategy. Athlone was one of the towns designated for growth to become a potential new city and to help attract IDA Ireland and foreign direct investment, FDI, jobs into the region. That is happening successfully in Athlone, which is fast becoming the silicon heartland. It now has more tech jobs per capitathan anywhere in northern Europe. However the difficulty is that the other towns in the area, namely, Longford, Roscommon, Ballinasloe, Mullingar and Tullamore are not benefiting. The spoke is not working. What are we doing to deliver on that objective?

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I was involved in setting up the growth centres. Athlone was a regional one, Sligo was another. We know our cities, Galway, Limerick, Waterford, Dublin and Cork are already thriving. In the growth centres of Athlone, Dundalk, Drogheda and Sligo, we try to target the infrastructure in order that those areas are ready to create jobs and can win jobs. We have seen the success of that in Athlone, as I have said. Stage 2 is that the region then benefits from that success and when companies make second-stage or third-stage investment, they often look beyond that regional centre they are in and pick the next one. When we sit down with IDA Ireland clients, we cannot drag them into an area, we must attract them through all the mechanisms that are there, to push them into a region. They then get familiar with a region and make decisions beyond that.

What is more important in the other towns Deputy Naughten referenced is that locally grown Irish companies must be the best chance that we can win here and we want to support them. I believe the regional enterprise plans are a key area to identify what works for each individual town and village into which you want to drive jobs. You have to put in place the ecosystem to make it happen, the supports and the opportunity to invest in buildings or hubs and all that infrastructure. However there has to be some suggestions locally as to how to make that happen. That includes the key sites, which the Deputy flagged before in his area, that could be looked at to develop into enterprise facilities as well. That is what the €145 million can make happen over the next two or three years if the right ideas come forward.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I am glad the Minister of State mentioned that because as I have said to the Tánaiste over the past two years, 15 minutes up the road from Athlone is the town of Ballinasloe. As we know there is a limited ability to expand or bring a large investment into Athlone either on the Roscommon side or the Westmeath side because the industrial lands are not there. There is a 50-acre land bank available in the town of Ballinasloe that is in public ownership. IDA Ireland has point-blank refused to acquire those lands where the infrastructure is in place. The water, wastewater and fibre optic cable, all the infrastructure, is there and yet IDA Ireland has refused to acquire those additional lands and to market that particular campus to investors in the midland region.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I recently met many residents and business owners in Ballinasloe with some of the Deputy's colleagues and with Senator Dolan to do just that, namely, to focus on what we can do for that particular town. IDA Ireland owns other land in Ballinasloe and surrounding areas that is being marketed with some success over the years. In regard to that 50-acre site, I am quite interested in it. We looked at it before with a view to housing and so on. That, to me, is a perfect site that could be developed under the regional enterprise plan in conjunction with the local authorities putting that forward as a key action to grow an enterprise unit or enterprise centre and the opportunity to create jobs and the blend with education and skills. I do not think IDA Ireland has to be involved on that site at all. It has other land that it should prioritise but that is an opportunity. I agree with the Deputy that there is infrastructure in place. It is a perfect site, looked at through the eyes of the local authority with which the Deputy should work and bring forward a plan. There are mechanisms and funding opportunities in the regional enterprise plan to fund something like that and certainly to kick it off. There is a perfect opportunity to have an enterprise and education combination on that site to create local jobs and give an opportunity to Irish entrepreneurs who need access to a property solution in that area and to bring them back to create jobs in their own county. They are well capable of doing it with the right co-ordination.