Brendan Kenneally (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Question 52: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the position regarding the Horizon 2020 report; the action that has been taken since it was launched; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28853/10]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has been, and will continue to be, a key element in the export led recovery of this economy.

In March 2010, IDA Ireland published 'Horizon 2020', a document which sets out the Agency's strategy for attracting FDI into Ireland in the coming decade. The targets for this strategy include the creation of 105,000 new jobs in Ireland in the period 2010-2014. Fifty per cent of these investments are to be based in locations outside of Dublin and Cork. The Strategy is being implemented over the five year period 2010-2014. I am glad to report that IDA has made good progress since the strategy was launched.

There have been 48 IDA investment announcements to date in 2010, an average of 2 per week. The new strategy also places a strong emphasis on transformation of existing industrial operations and IDA has developed a suite of support mechanisms to assist its client companies along this transformation agenda. Within the organisation, IDA has established a new High Growth Markets Team to achieve 20% of Greenfield investments into Ireland by 2014 originating from these markets. In addition, a second specialised team has also been established to target new High Growth FDI companies, which are the seeds of tomorrow's multinationals.

Progress is also being made on delivering the regional target element of the strategy with some significant project announcements including EA Games in Galway (200 jobs), Warner Chilcott in Dundalk a life sciences company (200 jobs), Mirror Controls International in Leitrim (50 jobs), Enercon in Tralee (30 jobs), and Mfg.com in Drogheda (50 jobs). IDA is continuing its efforts to win investments for Ireland and then to encourage, where appropriate, investments to locate in regional locations in line with the National Spatial Strategy (NSS). There have also been job investments in the Dublin and Cork regions including Dun and Bradstreet (100 jobs), IBM Smarter Cities Technology Centre (200 jobs), Telefonica (100 jobs) and United Technologies Corporation (37 jobs).

IDA has also developed a new marketing campaign, which was launched in North America, our biggest market for FDI. The PR campaign is aimed at highlighting the many positive characteristics of Ireland and is resulting in some recent positive media coverage of Ireland's attractiveness as an industrial development location.

While recognising that we are still in the early stages of a 5 year plan, I consider that IDA has made a good start on achieving the targets which it has set for itself and I am confident of continued success.

Brendan Kenneally (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Question 53: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the implications of the Horizon 2020 report for County Waterford; if any action has been taken to promote jobs in County Waterford since it was launched; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28855/10]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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An indication of IDA's commitment to balanced regional development is that one of the high levels goals in the Agency's new strategy, "Horizon 2020" is a commitment, that by 2014, 50% of all FDI investments will be located outside of Dublin and Cork. The challenge in achieving an even spread of investment is intensified as the sophistication of investments increase. Competition for Foreign Direct Investment comes not just from other countries, but from city regions with populations in excess of one million people. Dublin is the only recognised city region in Ireland that meets this criterion.

In line with the National Spatial Strategy, IDA's new strategy places renewed emphasis on the "Gateway" regions. The "gateways" in Ireland are going to be critical growth areas in the future. Successful enterprise development and the creation of an attractive location is interdependent. Regions/Gateways that support strong and dynamic enterprise are crucial to Ireland's return to balanced economic growth and IDA will continue to focus on balanced development through these regional gateways.

In the case of Waterford, IDA is concentrating on the gateway City of Waterford and on the town of Dungarvan. In addition to marketing the area for new inward investment, IDA Ireland is also actively engaged with the existing IDA client base in Waterford City and County, to encourage their transition to higher value activities and to promote further investment in Ireland. Clear evidence of a transition to more knowledge based and higher value activity is seen in the resilience of companies such as Bausch & Lomb, Honeywell and GlaxoSmithKline, as well as newer additions to the county's portfolio, such as Citi Hedge Funds, Genzyme and Sun Life Financial. In marketing County Waterford for new foreign direct investment (FDI), IDA Ireland is focused on attracting overseas companies in the services and knowledge-based industries (including advanced manufacturing). Sectors of focus in the medium term will be Life Sciences, ICT, International Services and High Technology Engineering.

To date in 2010, there have been 4 site visits by potential investors to Waterford City and County. While IDA seeks to influence the selection of locations for new investment, the final decision on where to visit and where to invest lies with the investor.