Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 143: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the restructuring which will take place within Enterprise Ireland in 2009 and 2010; and the new initiatives which have been introduced in the past 12 months to protect jobs and create employment in Cork city and county. [28031/09]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Enterprise Ireland (EI) developed a one year plan for 2009 to run in parallel to EI's existing strategy 'Transforming Irish Industry 2008-2010'.

The priorities of this plan are as follows:

a. Access to Finance

b. Winning New Sales & Sustaining Exports

c. Stimulating Competitiveness

d. Promoting Innovation

e. Supporting Entrepreneurship

The primary focus of export growth remains an organisational priority, which Enterprise Ireland is supporting through the reorientation of resources and the introduction of a number of initiatives in 2009, all of which are open to client companies in the Cork Region. A) A major initiative is the recent establishment by the Government of a €100 million Enterprise Stabilisation Fund for 2009-2010 to help internationally trading companies with robust business models that would otherwise struggle to survive the global downturn. EI also continues to work closely with international and domestic venture capitalists, the banks and the European Investment Bank to secure finance for Irish enterprises. B) In 2009, the agency's priority is to consolidate the position of existing Irish exporters in key markets (notably UK and US), and to identify and exploit new export opportunities across the Eurozone and in other selected markets. Enterprise Ireland is also working to emphasise the role that public procurement plays in economic recovery and development. C) During 2008, Enterprise Ireland launched a new Growth Fund, which provides funding to help clients invest in new equipment, implement new processes, train staff, or hire key personnel. In 2008, a total €26.23 million was approved under the Growth Fund to support 84 competitiveness improvement projects. Two new departments are in the process of being established to help companies drive down costs. The Cost Reduction and Lean Manufacturing units are staffed by personnel who have considerable experience and expertise in manufacturing efficiency. D) The agency is continuing to promote the importance of R&D and innovation in companies. In the immediate term, Enterprise Ireland's priority is to help companies to maintain their current R&D levels and encourage them to focus on 6-12 month projects that will yield a short-term positive return, and EI has streamlined its approval and payments procedures to support this. E) EI's strategic approach to regional enterprise aims to foster innovation-based start-ups, to proactively develop existing clients in all regions, and to facilitate entrepreneurship and the enterprise environment in local and rural communities. EI supported 71 High Potential Start-Ups in 2008, nine of which were located in Cork City and County, with a strong pipeline in place for 2009.

Other initiatives include tailored Enterprise Start Programmes, aimed at employees of multi-nationals, which are either down-sizing or closing, have proved very successful in Cork. A programme was run in 2007 for Motorola employees, with the second programme being run for Freescale Limited employees in Cork, when Freescale Limited terminated operations in Cork, in 2008. In 2009, another programme was run for employees from Pfizer. Enterprise Ireland continues to work with relevant agencies to assist companies in this area.