Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for attending in order to deal with this matter. We were very happy to have her in the west last week for the launch of the west regional enterprise plan to 2020. That was a great occasion because it allowed us to reflect on all the great work that has been achieved as part of the Action Plan for Jobs. More than 28,000 jobs have been created since 2015 and our unemployment rate is approximately 6.6%. Under the new plan, we are seeking to increase the number of jobs in the region by 10% to 15% by 2020. The event to which I refer was fantastic, and the PorterShed digital innovation centre where it took place is very impressive. I am very hopeful that my own home town of Ballina, where we have secured €3.2 million to create a digital and innovation hub at the old military barracks, will have something similar to the PorterShed if not bigger. There are lots of good things in the pipeline and I acknowledge the Minister's work and that of her predecessor.

The Minister will recall that the chair of the Action Plan for Jobs regional steering committee, Mr. Gerard Kilcommins of Medtronic, outlined his experience of being the chair and looked at the entire region. He acknowledged that the biggest challenge is to spread job growth. Galway and Mayo are two of the largest counties in the country. The position in Galway city is almost a world apart from the other counties. The challenge is to shunt growth outwards and achieve balanced regional development in accordance with the objective of Project Ireland 2040 to grow the population outside of Galway, Dublin and the other big urban centres.

Strategic objective No. 6 of the regional enterprise plan is to "Enhance the quality and availability of enterprise space in the West". I wish to speak about north and east Mayo. We had wonderful news several weeks ago with the announcement of 150 jobs to be created by US firm Meissner. That firm will have its base in Castlebar. We are all very aware in Mayo and in more peripheral areas that it is that bit more difficult to attract foreign direct investment into these areas. I am asking the Minister how we can put north Mayo, east Mayo and Ballina on the map as an economic driver for the region. How can we attract more foreign direct investment? We already have a success story in Coca-Cola's presence in Ballina, which employs about 500 people. Hollister's operation in Ballina employs 800 people. We have foreign direct investment from about six companies including Lionbridge Technologies, which tests software. These are very welcome and they have grown in the last several years but we want new investment, and that makes sense. We may have issues regarding connectivity and roads, but I have spoken with the managing directors of several of these companies and what we have to offer is quality of life. We have never had better sports facilities and there are school places and houses. Moreover, the cost of living is much lower than in Dublin. Let us face it - all jobs are welcome, but if all the investment is in Dublin and Galway, those centres will cave in on themselves. They cannot take the pressure. We know about the shortage of housing and school places.

One solution that has been suggested by some of the multinational companies driving foreign direct investment is the construction of an advanced technology building. We know that it was key to Meissner's choice to invest in Castlebar. That was stated at the launch. Even the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Ring, who was officiating, said we need to build more such facilities.I am asking for an advanced technology building to be provided in Ballina, which is the biggest town in the area. The town needs to be put on the map so that companies can see not just a field, but a building with the capacity to expand. I get this message from people constantly and if the Minister facilitates this she will put us in a better position to attract the jobs we want and which we are willing and able to have in the north and east of Mayo.