Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 320: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his plans for business for the provision of employment in business and industry at the business park, Askeaton, County Limerick. [21856/07]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Responsibility for the development of property solutions for enterprise promotion in the Mid West Region lies with Shannon Development. Responsibility for grant assistance to companies locating in the Region is an operational matter for the relevant development agencies. IDA Ireland is the national agency with statutory responsibility for the attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Ireland and its regions (incl. Co. Limerick), while Enterprise Ireland is responsible for indigenous industry in the Mid-West region. Both Shannon Development and IDA Ireland work closely together in the development, promotion and marketing of tailored property solutions throughout the Mid West which includes the Askeaton Business Park.

The Business Park is a Shannon Development-owned land bank, comprising 228 acres situated on the southern bank of the Shannon Estuary. The site has been identified as an important site from a business and employment perspective for both Co. Limerick and the wider Region in the Planning and Land Use Transportation Study, the Mid-West Regional Planning Guidelines and the Limerick County Development Plan. The typical investment projects which both Shannon Development and IDA Ireland seek to win are in advanced higher-value manufacturing and services activities (often containing an R&D element) requiring high-level skills, infrastructure and advanced business services. This reflects the changing nature of modern FDI projects whose primary needs can be summarised as follows: a high-quality serviced environment within proximity of a critical population mass capable of providing a skilled workforce, world-class access infrastructure (e.g. road access to key cities, sea ports and international airports), telecommunications infrastructure with multiple broadband carriers and proximity to third level educational institutions including universities and technical colleges.

The Askeaton Business Park is considered to be nationally significant given its location on the deep-water estuary, proximity to Foynes and Limerick Ports, proximity to urban clusters in Limerick City and Askeaton, railhead access on the Foynes-Limerick route and its site boundary with the N69 providing direct access to southern ports such as Cork and Rosslare. The completion of the Southern Ring Road and the proposed Limerick Tunnel will furthermore enable direct road access to Shannon Airport for passenger and freight services and will facilitate access to the West and East Coasts including Dublin Port.

The development and servicing of the Askeaton Business Park as a solution for these large scale infrastructure intensive type projects is an ongoing project for Shannon Development, drawing on the experience of IDA in the development of similar such sites in other locations, e.g. Oranmore, Co. Galway and Grangecastle, Co. Dublin. In this context Shannon Development is working closely with IDA Ireland on the development of Strategic Sites in the Shannon Region.

The Askeaton Business Park is marketed through IDA Ireland's network of overseas offices as a location for international export-orientated projects. Ultimately, however, decisions regarding where to locate a project are taken by investors based on a variety of criteria and on the capability of any particular location to support their business needs.