Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Question 259: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of IDA supported jobs which were lost in County Kerry in each of the years from 2000 to 2004 inclusive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27368/05]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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IDA Ireland is the agency with statutory responsibility for the marketing of Ireland, including its regions and areas, to overseas investors for foreign direct investment, FDI. IDA Ireland has informed me that it is actively seeking to win new projects for Kerry in more advanced, higher value activities, in both manufacturing and services. In addition to its ongoing marketing of the county to potential new investors, it is also actively seeking to facilitate a progression in the sophistication and breadth of its existing clients' Irish operations. This means not only increasing value added in client manufacturing operations, but also adding corporate level innovation such as research and development and service, logistics and supply chain management functions alongside manufacturing.

The objective is to create more rounded and strategically important operations within the overall corporation which are better embedded and more suited to the competitive characteristics of the Irish economy in the medium to long term. I am pleased that IDA Ireland is making some progress in this regard with two expansion projects announced in April 2004 for Killarney and a third for Kenmare announced in November 2004. At the end of 2004, the latest year for which figures are available, there were 2,022 people in permanent employment in 21 IDA supported companies in County Kerry. This compares with a figure of 2,640 in employment in 23 IDA supported companies in 2000, resulting in a net decrease of some 23.4%.

The following table shows the number of jobs lost in IDA supported companies in Kerry in each of the years from 2000 to 2004