Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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The Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, is welcome.

Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Acting Chairperson for his courtesy and the Minister of State for coming in to take this Commencement matter. It is the first occasion I have asked him to take one since his appointment to this position. Even though I have congratulated the Minister of State personally on his appointment, I want to state publicly this morning that I am very happy that he is in this position now. I know how committed and dedicated he is to jobs, job creation and rural development, in particular.

I am speaking this morning about the IDA Ireland commitment to County Roscommon. IDA Ireland has a very good record with regard to foreign direct investment, FDI, and we must pay tribute to the work it does with regard to the amount of foreign direct investment it brings to this country. We must also acknowledge that how it does this, derives from an ability to attract and retain this investment. It is all very fine getting jobs but IDA Ireland has a very good record of not alone attracting foreign direct investment here but also of retaining it.

There is a great focus now by Government on more jobs in the regions, which is happening and which I acknowledge. I feel at times that County Roscommon needs more of a push from IDA Ireland. Today, I am basically asking for an update, if possible, on what IDA Ireland has planned for the future of the county. There has been significant investment in Monksland in south Roscommon, which is a very positive development. That was started by Roscommon County Council some 40 years ago. That has brought in a considerable amount of FDI.

As the Minister of State knows, we have a wonderful plant in Castlerea - Harmac Medical Products, which now employs more than 300 people. We have, however, a deficit in other parts of the county. In Roscommon town, for instance, if it did not have fine family businesses, we would be very short of jobs. When Albert Reynolds was Taoiseach and Minister for Industry and Commerce, we had foreign direct investment, which I believe was the last occasion we had it in Roscommon town. He worked very hard on that with our local politicians, including our Oireachtas Members and councillors.

We also need more of a focus on towns like Boyle, Strokestown and Ballaghaderreen. In some of these towns, there are units which were built by local community development companies or by individuals and these are suitable for 50, 60, or 70 jobs. This is vital for towns like that.

I will not detain the Minister of State much longer in making the point that I want to see a greater focus by IDA Ireland on County Roscommon. It is a beautiful county with tremendous facilities in respect of education and sport and, on either side of it, you have Athlone IT and IT Sligo, which are operating now under their new names. These are very important and play a crucial role because many of the people who want to invest in the country will ask about education facilities and colleges, which are vitally important. There is one of these facilities on either side of County Roscommon, which is a county with a great community spirit.

I will not make too great an issue of visits. As far as I can see, there are very few visits by IDA Ireland to County Roscommon compared to other western counties. I am not going down that road today, however, because there is no point in discussing that the whole time. I would like to know from the Minister of State what is in the pipeline for the future and what are the plans for County Roscommon with respect to IDA Ireland. I know there is a special focus on Carrick-on-Shannon in Leitrim, and that there are special things going on in Mayo, Sligo and Galway. Perhaps there is something in the pipeline for Roscommon also. I would very much appreciate it if the Minister of State could clarify the matter for me to see how we could move things forward.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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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.

Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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We invite the Minister to our county. He is in a neighbouring county. I know we have to meet at Dr. Hyde Park on Sunday in a big clash, and then another big clash a couple of weeks later. We meet regularly. I know he is regularly in our county. I welcome that he is going to meet with the CEOs on job creation, including Shane Tiernan, the acting CEO in Roscommon. It is very important that we engage the local authorities. The Industrial Development Authority, IDA, Ireland is engaged with the local authorities so that they can be involved in pushing projects forward. I acknowledge that it is not just about the IDA Ireland and foreign direct investment, FDI. There are many Government incentives around job creation. In our local enterprise company, Louise Ward and her staff do fantastic work with businesses as does Enterprise Ireland. My message is that I want more focus on our county, to attract more into it. It has been a long time, particularly in places like Roscommon town, since we have had any FDI. I would like to see that change in the future.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I share the Senator's ambition for Roscommon, and for the west. I will visit the county soon. I will be meeting with regional enterprise stakeholders in coming weeks. I assure the Senator that the Government is committed. One of the key challenges facing western regions is infrastructure. As he knows, the N5 project is back on track, led by and driven by the Senator himself. That will enhance infrastructure, particularly in western Roscommon, so we can make it more attractive for companies to invest. I endorse everything he has said about the commitment of IDA Ireland. It is a wonderful organisation, which year after year attracts new companies. Most importantly, it is enhancing and deepening relationships with existing companies. I am pretty sure we are going to continue doing that in Roscommon.