Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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8. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of jobs in Galway currently supported by Enterprise Ireland and by the IDA; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33001/25]

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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In Galway, we have a fantastic economy that has grown over the past few years and has only gone from strength to strength. There is a significant amount of people employed across our IDA and Enterprise Ireland clients. I ask the Minister to provide details of the number of jobs in Galway in either IDA- or Enterprise Ireland-related companies.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for his very important question. I am happy to tell him that the Government and I, as Minister of State with responsibility for trade promotion, digitalisation and AI, are committed to developing Ireland's enterprise base across all regions over the next five years. This ranges from backing small businesses and start-ups to scaling up indigenous firms and enhancing our attractiveness as a location for foreign direct investment. Our vision is to foster a dynamic, resilient and inclusive economy that supports sustainable growth and job creation in every corner of the country.

The Deputy's interest, of course, is County Galway and according to the Department's annual employment survey of Enterprise Ireland clients for 2024, there are 329 Enterprise Ireland-supported companies operating in that county. These companies collectively employ 9,687 people, which is a nearly 7% increase in employment compared with 2023. This growth reflects the strength of local entrepreneurship and the effectiveness of targeted supports for indigenous enterprise, which continue to empower businesses to innovate, expand and compete on a global stage.

There were a number of Enterprise Ireland jobs announcements in Galway in 2025. In January 2025, Aerogen announced an expansion that will create 725 jobs over ten years. In May, M&M Qualtech announced 18 new positions at its Galway facility while in June, ICS Medical Devices announced 72 jobs by 2028. In addition, the Galway local enterprise office has been instrumental in supporting small businesses. In 2024, it assisted 258 local businesses, supporting 1,356 jobs and creating 218 new jobs through the provision of over €600,000 in direct grant assistance.

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. That tells the story. I was expecting to hear numbers like that. A 7% increase in Enterprise Ireland employment numbers across Galway in 2023 to 2024 alone is phenomenal growth and the type of growth we want to see, not just for Galway, but for all of the west.

There are two important aspects I wish to highlight. The first is the planning process for new companies looking to establish in our area to accelerate that growth. We had a fantastic example in my nearest town of Athenry. The Dexcom facility currently under construction is set to employ 1,000 people. It is at the M6 motorway interchange and has rail connectivity. This formed part of the western regional enterprise plan previously. The problem currently lies with infrastructure in Galway city. I need support from the Department of enterprise to encourage the other Departments, be that the Department of Transport or of infrastructure, to ensure access to Galway city is a priority. So many of my constituents commute into the city to access work in Parkmore and it is not fair on them to have their time stolen.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for the very legitimate concerns he has raised. On the first piece around planning, he will agree that the Planning and Development Act passed by the previous Government has gone a huge way towards trying to address that. Whether we are in opposition or government, we all know this country has been choked and almost had its development stifled due to planning. We are doing everything possible to address those challenges and make it more attractive for businesses to go through that process. The spurious and vexatious objections that have stifled the ability of companies not just to start up but also to possibly scale up have been detrimental to the growth of our economy. In the previous Government and this Government, we are certainly trying to address it, and we have addressed it in an action-based way through the Planning and Development Act.

As to how we support the businesses that want to scale up, the Deputy will agree that all of our State agencies, be it the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, CeADAR - which is focused on AI development - or a LEO, are doing everything possible to support those businesses in doing that.

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the commitment by the Government to tackle the planning issues, but we did not have that problem in Athenry, fortunately. It was an eight-week planning process and permission was granted with the necessary conditions to ensure nobody was impacted negatively. It was a positive news story and something we as a Government should promote more to the wider world to show that companies can do business in Ireland, can do it quickly and can grow their business in a safe and reliable environment.

The other point I wanted to make applies in particular to small-to-medium-sized enterprises across the west. Procurement can be quite difficult. I continually raise this, but we need to change the way we are doing procurement to ensure our small-to-medium-sized enterprises can access opportunities close to home. It should not be a case of the large players continually being the ones to get the largest slice of the cake. It should be the case that our small-to-medium-sized enterprises in our localities have access to opportunities as well.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Point taken. It is a very reasonable observation to make. Procurement is a language of its own. We all know that from filling in procurement applications for grants for communities, for example. There is a language and that can sometimes be off-putting, make it difficult and create further challenges for business. However, we are in the business of creating business. We are in the business, as a Government, of supporting business and the Deputy is right, in that we want the world to know this is a good country to do business in and that the Government and the local authorities are ready and open to assist in any way we can.

I take on board the Deputy's point about procurement and will speak to the Minister to see what we can do to address that.