Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein)
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In recent years, I have had submitted to the Minister and her predecessor a number of parliamentary questions to try to understand foreign direct investment, FDI, and IDA-supported jobs in Donegal. In July 1999, County Donegal had lost more than 1,000 jobs in the textile industry. Companies such as Fruit of the Loom, which was a significant employer, was on the verge of leaving the county and it eventually left. Magee was a textile manufacturer in south Donegal and Unifi was based in Letterkenny. They all left in subsequent years but already in July 1999 we had lost 1,000 jobs. The Government of the day set up a Donegal employment initiative task force and it presented its recommendations in July 1999. It said that Donegal was way behind the rest of the State in job creation, especially foreign direct investment, and it targeted almost 5,000 additional jobs in foreign direct investment for the next seven years.

I decided to track how we progressed in the past 17 years. What I have discovered from the responses of the Minister and her officials is that today in Donegal the IDA supports fewer companies that it did in the year 2000. It supported 14 companies then and it is 12 today. When one looks at the growth in jobs in IDA-supported companies across the State, it was 140,000 in 2000 and today it is more than 210,000, which is 50% growth. I commend the IDA on the excellent job it has done in bringing companies from around the world to the State. I say good luck to all the locations that got such companies. In County Donegal, even though we set a target of 5,000 additional jobs in the following seven years, the growth has been less than half of the State-wide level of 50% at 24% growth. We would be in serious trouble were it not for companies such as Pramerica and Optum, which employ more than two thirds of all the IDA-supported jobs in Donegal. It is a fantastic story of Donegal leadership. There has been a failure to deliver foreign direct investment to Donegal but there is good news in that we have Pramerica and Optum, as well as other companies. In particular, I refer to Pramerica, which employs more than 1,500 companies and which demonstrates we can get jobs in Donegal, keep them there and grow them.

The Letterkenny Institute of Technology provides fantastic leadership. The adjoining CoLab develops and incubates small businesses. There is also a science and technology park. In addition, there is the leadership of Donegal County Council, as well as Derry City and Strabane District Council. They are breaking down the Border and talking about the north-west city region. While I need to focus today on the historic failure and the negatives, I want to bring to the Minister's attention the significant positives. The Minister must work with her Government colleagues to fast-track the commitments in Project 2040 in terms of roads investment, broadband, airports, bridges and harbours. I ask that the Minister would work with her Government colleagues to fast-track the commitments made concerning Donegal. Donegal was playing catch-up in 1999. We put in place recommendations but fell further behind. I urge the Minister to work with me and other public representatives in Donegal to bring more foreign direct investment to the county and to make sure that the commitments in Project 2040 are delivered.

As a Minister from a Border county, Deputy Humphreys knows how hard it has been. She knows the struggle that we have had and the threat of Brexit. We need a strong statement from the Minister today about how we are going to bring new businesses to the area. I ask her not to quote the jobs growth in Pramerica. We know all about that. She should please tell me about her plan to bring new companies to Donegal, on the back of Pramerica and Optum, to turn around the historic failure we have seen.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Mac Lochlainn for raising this matter. As a representative from the constituency of Cavan-Monaghan, job creation in the Border region is particularly close to my heart. In that regard, I will begin by stressing that the Government is determined to support the growth of high-quality and sustainable employment across Ireland, including in County Donegal. Regional development is - and will remain - a national priority and sustained efforts are being made to foster job creation and investment all over the country.

As Senator Mac Lochlainn said, the Donegal employment initiative task force was set up in 1999 as a long-term plan to target sustainable job growth for the region. The task force set out extremely ambitious targets for job creation for Donegal in terms of foreign direct investment and internationally traded services. While not all of the task force's targets have been met, the overall employment trends in the county are positive. When looking at employment growth in Donegal over the past ten years - or elsewhere across Ireland for that matter - it is also important to take account of the impact of the financial and fiscal crisis that began in 2008. We must be mindful of that. It had the effect of effectively reversing job creation and investment for a number of years, stalling the country's wider economic progress. Significant steps forward have been taken, however, since the country emerged from recession. If one compares, for example, foreign direct investment-related employment in Donegal at the beginning of our economic recovery in 2012 with our most recent FDI employment data at the end of 2017, one will find the county has experienced a 52% increase in FDI employment in that five-year period. Job numbers in IDA Ireland client companies there have grown from 2,223 in 2012 to 3,389 at the end of last year. That growth rate compares very favourably with the national average increase of 31% in FDI employment within this same period.

Last year alone, the number of IDA-supported jobs in Donegal increased by 11%, with the region now home to 12 IDA companies, which currently include SITA, Optibelt and Pramerica. The agency continues to work hard to create further employment opportunities in the county and to increase the number of multinational companies located there. Last October, my predecessor attended the opening of Pramerica's new state-of-the-art campus in Letterkenny, where more than 220 local tradesmen were employed during its construction. Pramerica's presence in the county began in 2000 with just eight employees and the firm has grown to become a highly successful company with more than 1,500 employed in County Donegal. I believe that exemplifies the potential that exists in the county and the efforts the Government and the IDA have made, and still are making, to bring more investment there. We want that to continue, which is why the IDA is working closely with both existing and new clients to encourage further projects and more job creation for the county.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein)
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As I anticipated, we now need to get to the core of the issue. That is the reason I had those questions tabled and why I am probing the issue. Pramerica is a fantastic story in Donegal. It employs more than 1,500 jobs and has local Donegal leadership. I was at the launch of the fantastic new building, known as the Rock. It is a great story but it is not enough. Why are we not building on the story of Pramerica? The Minister talked about a 52% increase over a number of years but it was from a low base. The unemployment levels in Donegal in the 2016 census and historically have been around twice the national average. A significant factor in the reduction in unemployment levels between 2011 and 2016 is emigration. People in Donegal know that. We have lost young people to the United States, Australia and Canada and many of them are not coming home.

I want to hold up the positive examples of Pramerica, Letterkenny Institute of Technology, Donegal County Council, Derry and Strabane council, and their visionary leadership, but the Government is not meeting them half way. It is not bringing new jobs. The low number of IDA site visits in the past ten to 15 years is despicable. The Government is basically riding on the back of Pramerica's success and it is not delivering new investment to the county.The Government is not acknowledging the scale of the disadvantages we have faced historically and is not delivering the new investment and jobs that are required. It is clearly not telling the story of Donegal or of Letterkenny Institute of Technology, LYIT, and the visionary leadership in the region. If Pramerica Systems Ireland Limited and Optum were taken from the figures for new and additional jobs, Donegal would be a disaster zone. The Minister cannot continue to point to Pramerica to make the Government look good. She must start to build on Pramerica's delivery. Local Donegal leadership and good friends in America delivered in Pramerica. What the IDA must do now is bring in new companies and new investment and accept that, historically, there has been huge Government failure.

The Minister started by talking about the Donegal employment initiative task force back in 1999. She must accept there has been utter failure in achieving those targets. The target was almost 5,000 for the next seven years for Donegal, but it has had less than half the growth of the rest of the State. Not only did it not catch up, it fell further behind. That is an indisputable fact. I ask the Minister to accept that and to promise to stop quoting Pramerica to the people in Donegal. We know about that. She should tell us when she will bring new jobs and new investment on foot of the brilliant leadership in Pramerica, LYIT and Donegal County Council.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I do not accept what the Senator says regarding the lack of effort on creating jobs in Donegal. That is untrue. The figures the Senator quotes go back to 1999. He forgets to mention that in the middle of all that time we had a huge economic recession. He knows that as well as I do.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein)
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Jobs grew every year during it. The recession has nothing to do with it.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Senator fails to acknowledge that. Most new IDA supported jobs are created from existing companies. There are three very good FDI companies in Donegal and the IDA continues to work closely with them. I have just returned from the United States and I have to make the point that the work the IDA does abroad is second to none. American politicians said to me, "How did you do it? You have one of the best agencies in the world in terms of attracting foreign direct investment". I assure the Senator that the IDA is doing everything it can to encourage foreign companies to locate in Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan, Louth, Sligo and Leitrim. I accept that those Border counties need increased attention and investment, and that is a priority for me.

The IDA's clients based in the county have performed well. The IDA retains a healthy presence in the north-west region despite the challenging economical operating environment over the last number of years. The latest CSO figures show a significant drop of over 8% in the unemployment rate in Donegal since 2011. This recovery is not driven by FDI companies alone. Enterprise Ireland, EI, has also grown its jobs numbers in the county with 3,552 people now employed in EI client companies in Donegal, an increase from 3,420 last year. Both Enterprise Ireland and the IDA maintain constant engagement with their clients in Donegal to encourage them to grow both jobs and investment in the county even further. The agencies also work closely together, where possible, to help spur employment creation. The local enterprise offices, as well as InterTradeIreland, are also working hard to ensure sustainable job growth for County Donegal and the wider north-west region.

I acknowledge that more work remains to be done both in Donegal and across the north, west and Border region in terms of creating opportunities for the people of those areas. As the Senator knows, I am from the Border area and following my appointment as Minister with responsibility for business I said from the outset that I wanted to shine a light on the region for job creation because traditionally it has been one of the areas that has lagged behind. I recently met the chief executive officers, CEOs, of the local authorities in Cavan, Monaghan, Louth and Meath and I will also meet the CEOs from Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim. Those meetings involve senior officials from my Department, as well as the IDA and Enterprise Ireland. I am committed to ensuring that we do more for the Border region and I hope to see more investment in the region in the years ahead. In fairness, Donegal County Council and Letterkenny Institute of Technology have done great work. The Government has supported them and will continue to support them.

Another issue is the N2-A5. The Minister of State, Deputy McHugh, and I are absolutely committed to that road going all the way from Dublin to Letterkenny. That would be a wonderful addition in terms of opening the north west and reducing the time it takes to get from the airport in Dublin to Donegal. Both of us are committed to that and it is included in the national development plan and the national planning framework for 2040.