Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising the issue. Meath is part of IDA Ireland's eastern region, which includes Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow and Meath, and overall, the region has performed extremely well. There has been increased employment in the past two years totalling 6,000 jobs, compared with a net job loss in the previous four years of 7,000. There has been a dramatic turnaround in the performance of the eastern region. I can understand the Senator's disappointment that not more of the new job creation is occurring in Meath, although the people of Meath have gained an advantage from the strength of performance in the wider region.

This is a bigger issue in the context of IDA Ireland. I had the privilege to be in this office 15 years ago and there has been a dramatic change in the profile of the sort of company that is picking Ireland as a location, which creates a difficulty in achieving a regional spread. Increasingly, companies involved with information and communications technology, medical devices and financial services come in clusters where Ireland has achieved competitive strength. They tend to be much more focused on gateway cities within regions, and IDA Ireland is increasingly focused on delivering effectively within those regions.

That is not to say IDA Ireland does not promote other areas, as it does so. Its representatives recently met people from Meath County Council to discuss the property solutions that are available. As the Senator mentioned, these include the Quinn building and the business park in Navan. IDA Ireland has recently got planning permission for a significant new site to ensure availability of properties for companies seeking to invest. Ultimately, IDA Ireland does not decide the locations that companies choose, which is a difficulty. Depending on their sectoral strength, companies look to different labour market pools. That is part of the wider challenge we face.

I have set a target, like the previous Government, that 50% of projects would be won outside Dublin and Cork, and IDA Ireland continues to work to that goal. For many years, under both this and the previous Government, it has not been able to achieve that target because of difficulties. Ireland must make a transition from an economy that got too big with construction and debt activity to an economy that can be built on exports and enterprise. We must look to our indigenous companies and the inherent strengths of regions. We will continue to seek to press all regions but companies ultimately come with a list of what is required in a region or particular location. Very often, those requirements narrow the focus, and we must work under such constraints.

Much of the work being done in the action plan for jobs looks to deepen the strength of our indigenous companies, building an export base and getting more companies who only consider the domestic market to expand into exporting. There is a big challenge to broaden what we regard as successful regional strategies for a county or region and deepen all elements rather than just seeing foreign investment as the only element.

I note the Senator's points but the eastern region is performing strongly. Overall, Meath has just 14 foreign-owned companies, employing 1,200 people. The foreign sector is relatively small within the overall employment profile of the county. I assure the Senator that I continue to focus on achieving regional spread but this will come within the constraints of the type of companies which are relevant. Compared with many years ago, companies are demanding research and development skills and very specific sectoral specialties which creates a constraint for the type of spread we want to achieve. I remain conscious of the need to continue to focus on this matter, and I engage with IDA Ireland regularly in order to focus on regions that need support and to ensure there is a regional spread. The organisation must understand the dynamic of different companies and regions.

I thank the Senator for raising the matter but it is not an area where we can just turn on a tap to solve the problem. It is heartening to see the turnaround in international confidence in the overall region and we are now attracting more companies. IDA Ireland is happy to work with Meath County Council and other players in the region to try to increase the attractiveness of Meath as a location for international companies.