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

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. He has a keen interest in the south east, particularly Waterford. As he stated, unemployment levels in the region have been high. In the aftermath of the closure of TalkTalk, I conducted an analysis of the region and confirmed the Senator's remarks. It has embedded structural problems. The Celtic tiger, which brought a great deal of multinational investment, did not have the same impact in the south east as it did in other regions. Nor does it have the strong clusters of industry that have been a feature of the hubs of growth in successful sectors.

There will be no big bang solution. A long-term strategy needs to be developed. The action plan I have put in place is focused practically and has brought the key players together, which has been beneficial in itself. They have set out a range of initiatives that various agencies are pursuing and that will serve to improve Waterford's positioning as a region.

Significant progress has been made. The agencies have delivered on their short-term objectives, for example, special enterprise start-up initiatives aimed at getting people with ideas to develop them. Eishtec has been extraordinarily successful and has expanded to 600 employees in the south east. In 2011, it was merely a high potential Enterprise Ireland start-up. Approximately 750 jobs from the Enterprise Ireland portfolio have emerged since the action plan was initiated.

We need a stronger strategy to develop a successful indigenous engine of growth in the south east. I do not disagree that the culture of training within industry and building a stronger educational infrastructure will play a part. Waterford Institute of Technology, WIT, has been remarkably successful. It has incubated some high quality innovation in the telecommunications field and spawned many successful start-ups. Like the Senator, I see regional opportunities in the fields of life sciences, clean tech and food. The agencies are working together to develop these sectors as areas of potential growth.

Tomorrow morning, I will convene a meeting of the south east action plan group to review the progress being made. The IDA has sustained its focus on this area. The number of site visits increased from 16 in 2010 to nearly 50 last year. It is a question of building on the co-operation that exists in the region. We need to build on its many competitive strengths, although some of them need to be developed. I can say with some degree of satisfaction that our focus on the south east is yielding results. It is welcome that the agencies are pursuing their common purpose in a more concerted fashion. This type of collaboration is how successful regional strategies are built. They cannot be top-down, but bottom-up.

While I am hopeful, employment numbers in the south east continue to pose a difficulty. They justify the focus that I assure the Deputy I will maintain in the coming years.