Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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300. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of Enterprise Ireland jobs announced for County Kerry in 2013; the number of Enterprise Ireland site visits; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1040/14]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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There were no specific press announcements for Kerry in 2013 however, in terms of employment growth, the preliminary results from the Forfas employment survey for 2013 show a net gain of 345 permanent full time jobs in Enterprise Ireland client companies in Co. Kerry. Please note that these figures are preliminary and are subject to change pending the publication of the official Forfas Employment Survey in 2014.

An offer of support from Enterprise Ireland to each client company is a confidential matter and will vary depending on the type of support being sought. It is worth noting that for a variety of reasons some companies do not announce their job creation or expansion plans. Where a client company wishes to publicly announce new jobs created, Enterprise Ireland can facilitate this announcement by issuing a press release in conjunction with the company.

In terms of site visits, unlike our sister agency (IDA), Enterprise Ireland does not focus on site visits. However, Enterprise Ireland arranges international buyer visits to Ireland. These visits are focussed on sectors rather than specific geographic locations. In 2013, Enterprise Ireland attracted over 900 international buyers to Ireland. These buyers are from a variety of industry sectors and are targeted to meet companies nationwide in specific sector/business area of interest to the buyer, and not for a specific location/county.

This major drive is critical at a time when Irish companies are under pressure to both maintain sales with existing customers and secure new customers. A key aspect of the Inward Buyer plan is to focus on strong business prospects to maximise “conversion” of these initial inward buyer visits undertaken into solid orders for Enterprise Ireland clients.