Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach. I thank Senator Murphy for his good wishes and for raising this issue in the manner he has. The Government and IDA Ireland are committed to the pursuit of balanced regional development. On the FDI front, IDA Ireland is targeting half of all investments to regional locations. We are now at the mid-point of its current strategy, where 260 out of 491 investments went to regional locations, which is well over half of those investments.

Foreign direct investment is not the sole contributor to addressing the challenges facing Ireland’s regions, including Roscommon. That having been said, FDI can have a significant impact in propelling economic recovery and in realising more balanced growth.

In 2022, the numbers directly employed in IDA Ireland multinational clients in Ireland reached 301,475, the highest FDI employment level ever, with employment growth in FDI companies recorded in every region of the country. The benefits of these new investments extend beyond their direct and indirect levels of employment. They also generate significant positive spill-over effects for regional economies, indigenous businesses, and local communities through payroll spend and the purchase of Irish materials and services.

Roscommon is marketed by the IDA as part of the wider west region, including counties Galway, Mayo and Cavan, as well as Roscommon. There are 126 IDA Ireland companies in this region who collectively directly employ 31,490 people, and there are IDA Ireland-supported companies in Roscommon, employing 1,565 people.

There is a significant ecosystem of well-established life sciences companies and the number of people employed in software engineering, technical support, global business services and research and development in the region has also grown considerably.

IDA Ireland has regular engagement with existing client companies and with stakeholders in Roscommon. Throughout 2023, IDA Ireland will continue to market Roscommon and the western region and will arrange corresponding site visits, as required.

IDA Ireland also points the Senator to the role of Enterprise Ireland and the local enterprise office in Roscommon, which also plays a central role in supporting enterprise to maximise job retention and creation in all regions. The local enterprise offices, LEOs, are at the very heart of regional and local business development and of entrepreneurship right across the towns in Roscommon, including all of those mentioned by the Senator. Nationally, the LEOs have just come out of their ninth consecutive year of employment growth.

Some nine regional enterprise plans were launched by my Department in early 2022 to reinforce regional enterprise development and job creation throughout the country. The West Regional Enterprise Plan to 2024 encompasses Roscommon, Mayo and Galway and facilitates stakeholders to work collaboratively to strengthen the enterprise ecosystem and realise enterprise growth and job creation in the region. The enterprise plan model is a bottom-up one and is formed within communities. I met the West Regional Enterprise Plan to 2024 implementation group in Claremorris in November.I intend to meet the CEOs of the three councils in Galway, Mayo and Roscommon in coming weeks to discuss the implementation and strengthening of the regional enterprise plan on the ground. I will be more than happy to visit Roscommon with the Senator at some stage soon.