Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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126. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will ask the Industrial Development Agency to assess the reason for the lack of new investments in County Donegal; the dynamic behind this; and if he will seek a report from the IDA on issues that need to be addressed in order to ensure that the county becomes more attractive for new investments. [18639/13]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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IDA Ireland is the statutory body charged with the attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Ireland and its regions.

IDA Ireland has informed me that it currently supports 14 companies in Donegal which employ 2,228 people in software development, systems development and the medical technology industry. Donegal's industry base is transforming from the clothing and textile industry to high tech, high skill activity. Accordingly, IDA Ireland continues to work with its existing client base to encourage them to transform and expand their existing operations while actively encouraging new investment in Donegal in knowledge based industries and high-end manufacturing, mainly to companies in the medical technologies sector. In October 2012 KeyedIn solutions announced its plans to establish a software development centre in Letterkenny with the creation of 20 highly skilled jobs over a period of three years.

The challenge facing IDA Ireland is to continue to win top quality investment for Ireland in a very challenging global environment. International competition for FDI has become extremely intense and continues to increase. Leading global corporations require a significant population pool, access to qualified talent, world class physical and digital infrastructure as well as the availability of sophisticated, professional and business support services. Consequently, when marketing potential locations for site visit to clients, IDA Ireland has to be credible and competitive in its approach, in the face of stiff international competition for FDI, as locations must meet the criteria of the client company in respect of skills, labour, site and/or buildings and infrastructure. Donegal is part of IDA's North West Region, along with Counties Leitrim and Sligo, and this Region has two urban centres of sufficient scale - Letterkenny and Sligo- to meet these criteria.

IDA Ireland has also assured me that it continues to focus on the designated linked Gateway of Letterkenny/Derry. This focus involves developing stronger economic links with Invest Northern Ireland, which includes initiatives like the North West Business & Technology Zone (NWBTZ), which aims to promote the linked Gateway of Letterkenny/Derry in line with the NI Regional Development Strategy 2025.

I am mindful that, in order to ensure that Ireland can continue to compete globally for FDI projects, it will be necessary to undertake an in depth analysis of our FDI strategy with a view to informing the formulation of an appropriate strategy for the period post 2014. This analysis, which will be undertaken later this year, will take account of factors such as key trends emerging in FDI best practice internationally, Ireland’s strengths in attracting FDI, any changes to the EU’s State Aid rules that may be introduced in the near future and our agreed approach to regional development.

In the interim, IDA Ireland has assured me that it will continue to win FDI projects for County Donegal. While the global outlook for FDI continues to be challenging, the Agency has assured me that it will continue to work towards achieving its target of creating a further 12,000 jobs this year as set out in the Action Plan for Jobs 2013.