Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 53: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the efforts she has made to encourage hi-tech industry or otherwise into the Border areas particularly County Monaghan which has had an extraordinary level of redundancies in recent times; his views on whether through all the years of progress at national level no inward investment has been provided in this area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41728/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, 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.

Through its network of overseas offices, IDA Ireland is actively marketing Monaghan for new and expansion investments across a wide range of sectors. There are five IDA supported companies in Monaghan employing 321 people.

In recent years, Ireland has undergone a transformation from a low wage/low cost economy towards a high value and knowledge-based one. Arising from this transformation, the nature of foreign direct investment (FDI) has changed and Ireland is now competing for premium mobile investments against the most advanced countries in the world. A key aspect of the high value, knowledge intensive FDI, for which Ireland now competes, is that it increasingly favours locations in or near centres of urban scale, where it has access to the concentrations of infrastructure, skills and services it needs.

Accordingly, IDA Ireland has aligned its strategy with the National Spatial Strategy (NSS). In line with the NSS, IDA is focused on delivering investments to the Gateway and Hub locations nationally. In the case of Monaghan the Agency is concentrating its efforts on the hub town of Monaghan.

The Agency is promoting its Business Park in Monaghan Town for new knowledge intensive inward investment. The completion of the new Monaghan by-pass has vastly improved access to the existing IDA Park and the ongoing work on the N2 is improving access to Dublin Airport and city. This continues to add to the attractiveness of the location for new inward investment. However, in the final analysis it is the investor who decides where to locate.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 54: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of new jobs she expects to be created during 2008 in regard to manufacturing and to other sectors; the way these compare to figures each year since 2002. [41763/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Irish economy is now one of the most globalised in the world. As a consequence the uncertainty created by the ongoing international financial crisis and the consequent fall in demand for goods and services both domestically and worldwide has had a significant impact on our economy. Forecasting employment figures is a perilous business at any time, but is especially so in the present environment.

The latest available employment data from CSO (Quarterly National Household Survey August 2008) indicates that at Quarter Q2 2008 there were almost 7,000 additional people in employment compared with the corresponding period in 2007. This is a testament to a high degree of resilience in the economy at a time of great uncertainty in global economic conditions and the continued strength of the euro. The Government and I share the concerns of all with regard to employment, however it must be viewed in the context of historically unprecedented numbers of people in work. Since 1997, over half a million new jobs have been created in Ireland and the number in employment still exceeds 2 million. The following table shows that in the period 2002–2007 over 150,000 new full time permanent jobs were created in companies supported by the Government through the enterprise development agencies (IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Shannon Development). Of this total, 84,619 new jobs were created in the manufacturing sector.

These figures do not take account of the new jobs created with the support of the Government through Údaras na Gaeltachta, which falls within the remit at my colleague, the Minster for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

The economic environment is more challenging than we have seen for many years, however we have the foundations in place for long term economic growth through proactive policies such as the Strategy for Science Technology and Innovation, the National Skills Strategy and the National Development Plan. Ireland is well placed to tackle the challenges we are facing, with a strong base of modern industry, a highly skilled and flexible workforce and a pro-business culture. We continue to work to maintain and enhance our framework competitive conditions, and promote new areas of competitive advantage by developing our R&D base, investing in critical physical and communications infrastructures, in line with the NDP and the Programme for Government.

Competition for foreign direct investment (FDI) continues to be relentless but Ireland continues to punch above its weight when it comes to attracting overseas investment. While costs are higher, we have responded by positioning ourselves as a location for more advanced activities, with more qualified and better paying jobs. The pipeline of new business for which IDA Ireland is competing is as strong as at any time in recent years and we remain confident that Ireland is well placed to secure significant investment during 2008 and beyond from key target sectors such as Pharmaceuticals, Biopharma, Medical Technologies and Information and Communications Technology.

Innovation and the productivity gains that flow from it are the new foundations for competitiveness. In order to sustain and grow the manufacturing sector, Irish based manufacturing enterprises will have to continue the progression to high value added sectors and activities, and continue to increase productivity through investments in human capital, technology and innovation. The Government is fully committed to strengthening the competitiveness and productive capacity of the economy. Our priority remains the creation of high quality, sustainable employment, driven by companies with higher profitability, that are technologically advanced and prove a better fit with the competitive characteristics of our economy.

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 55: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment her views on the findings of the recent survey carried out on behalf of the Industrial Development Authority, which found that almost half of multinationals based here would not chose to locate here again in view of high business costs and poor infrastructure; the steps she will take to deal with the concerns identified in the survey; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41749/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The IDA Client Survey, which has been carried out since 1992, is a key piece of research for IDA Ireland. The survey is conducted annually across a percentage of the Agency's client base across a number of sectors. The key focus of this survey is to obtain the views of IDA clients on the operating environment in Ireland and IDA's level of service and product offering. In addition, the survey provides senior company executives with an opportunity to discuss, in confidence, a wide range of items outside of their normal engagement with IDA. For IDA it is an opportunity to examine feedback on an aggregate basis from the client portfolio, to identify issues of particular importance to clients, and to formulate appropriate policy responses.

To begin with let me say that one of the key findings from this most recent survey showed that 82% of companies surveyed ranked Ireland as a Good to Excellent location for further investment. This is a strong endorsement of Ireland as a good location for foreign direct investment.

As regards the findings referred to by the Deputy, in relation to choosing to locate in Ireland again, this question is approached in terms of the existing companies' reflections on whether the parent corporation would choose Ireland again if it were making the decision to establish in Ireland today, with the same original activity. The question focuses attention on Ireland's value proposition for this original activity, at the present time, and does not take account of the fact that the decision to come was probably made at a time when Ireland's value proposition was based around lower costs. It should be pointed out that the percentage of companies who responded positively to this question was greater than those who responded negatively. Among the main reasons given by IDA clients for choosing Ireland again, are the availability of skills, business knowledge, the tax environment in Ireland our location in proximity to mainland Europe and the general work ethic.

IDA has continued to focus on seeking inward investment from top-tier corporations and companies within a number of high potential business sectors including Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology, Medical Technology, Financial Services, International Services, Digital Media and Information Communications Technologies. I am glad to be able to inform the House that to date in 2008 there have been 43 new investment announcements, including such major companies as Facebook, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and IBM, with a potential to create almost 4,000 new jobs.

During my recent trip to the United States, I met with senior executives of leading companies in a broad range of sectors and given the positive views expressed to me about Ireland and the high standing in which Ireland is viewed as a business location by these leading global companies, I am confident that new investments will continue to flow into Ireland.