John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of jobs and opportunities that have been created by the Industrial Development Agency for Waterford City and County within the past 18 months; the way these figures compare with job creation levels in cities and counties such as Limerick, Cork and Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41347/12]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Details of the number of jobs created by IDA Ireland’s client companies in Waterford compared to Limerick, Cork and Galway are set out in the tabular statement.

In accordance with the South East Employment Action Plan, which I initiated following the closure of the Talk Talk Call Centre, all of the key State players are actively pursuing initiatives to facilitate development and job creation in the South East region. I travelled to Waterford in June last to meet the members of the South-East Forum and I was heartened to hear of the progress being made.

In addition to the work being carried out by IDA Ireland, I was pleased to hear of many developments which had been achieved since the publication of the Action Plan. Foremost amongst these has been that Enterprise Ireland has supported the establishment of the Eishtec Call Centre in Waterford city, where employment had reached 230. This is a very significant achievement and other recent initiatives by Enterprise Ireland (EI) in the region included the approval of 14 high quality projects under its Competitive Feasibility Fund, 12 companies being approved for Graduate Placement, 5 Community Enterprise Centres having been approved for funding for full-time business development managers, and, a high take-up of the EI Innovation Voucher scheme in Waterford.

The two local County Enterprise boards, in the city and county, have created 59 new jobs and the South East Regional Authority has secured EU funding for a number of enterprise and innovation-focussed projects.

Other bodies had also made considerable progress, with FÁS training services having provided training for about 5,000 people and that Agency also undertaking a wide range of other training initiatives. Several tourist initiatives are underway in the region and Science Foundation Ireland has funded 8 research awards to Waterford Institute of Technology. Number of jobs created by IDA client companies in Waterford compared to Limerick, Cork and Galway