Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Question 328: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of IDA assisted jobs that have been lost and created in County Kerry in 2006; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13748/07]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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IDA Ireland is the agency with statutory responsibility for the attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Ireland and its regions. The marketing of individual areas for new or expansion FDI investments and jobs is a day-to-day operational matter for the agency. While I may give general policy directives to the agency, I am precluded under the Industrial Development Acts from giving directives regarding individual undertakings or from giving preference to one area over others.

During 2006, there were 73 new jobs created and 176 jobs lost in IDA supported companies in Country Kerry. At the end of 2006 there were 1785 people employed in seventeen IDA assisted companies in the County. Total permanent employment in all enterprise agency assisted firms in Kerry stood at 6,928 at the end of 2006.

The attractiveness of Kerry for inward investment has to be seen within a regional context. In line with the National Spatial Strategy, the locations of emphasis for IDA in Kerry are the linked Hubs of Tralee and Killarney. The Agency promotes the County as part of an integrated region with access to a population of approx. 140,000, as well as the expanded population of the Mid-West and South-West regions. Based on the strengths of the region, IDA is particularly targeting the ICT (incl. software), and Globally Traded Business sectors.

The Strategic Competitiveness Programme that is operated by IDA is designed to help consolidate and grow client companies existing operations in the region by achieving substantial productivity improvements or the addition of new business functions such as R&D, marketing, logistics management, shared service centres and customer or technical support activities.

In addition, IDA Ireland is engaged with the Kerry Employment Action Team and the newly formed inter-agency Expert Group on Kerry to plan for the County's future economic growth. Both groups are focussed on how Kerry can best position itself in the context of the National Spatial Strategy, which is at the heart of the new National Development Plan.

I am confident that the current policies and strategies in place will deliver the best results in terms of investment and jobs for the people of the region.