Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Question 289: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the job creation/announcement target he set for or agreed with IDA Ireland for 2012; the amount of this target they have reached at the end of June; the steps he is taking to support them in their efforts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36182/12]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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IDA Ireland has been set a very challenging target under the Government's Action Plan for Jobs. The target is to create 12,500 jobs with an associated 8,750 in the wider economy, giving a total impact of 21,250 in 2012.

Recent results announced by the Agency show that good progress is being made in reaching this target and that the strong flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) is continuing as, at mid-year, there had been over 5,000 new job announcements by IDA client companies, with almost half of these in locations outside of Dublin and Cork. IDA's job announcement list is available on its website.

Globally the outlook for FDI continues to be challenging but IDA Ireland has assured me that it is optimistic that Ireland can continue to win significant FDI, building on its track record. IDA Ireland is continuing to target a number of sectors that will continue to grow, even in a globally challenging environment. These include IT/ Technology, Digital Media and Lifesciences. Even in areas of low or no growth, the Agency is confident that FDI opportunities will arise in sectors such as the consolidation of technology and operations hubs in global financial institutions and consolidation of operations in a number of other sectors.