Gabrielle McFadden (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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76. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide a breakdown of the level of employment and job creation in companies supported by Industrial Development Agency Ireland and Enterprise Ireland for each of the past five years in counties Westmeath and Longford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48751/14]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I have been advised by IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland that in 2013, there were just under 3,000 IDA Ireland-supported positions and over 4,000 people employed in Enterprise Ireland-supported jobs in Westmeath and Longford. 2014 figures will not be published until early in the New Year. IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland have a strong presence in Co. Longford and Co. Westmeath. The breakdown of employment in the counties and by agency is outlined in the attached tabular statement.

Longford and Westmeath are marketed as part of IDA Ireland’s Midlands Region, which also includes the counties of Roscommon, Laois and Offaly. The Region is marketed as having a strong cluster in Medical Technology and Life Sciences and is home to key clients such as Ark Consulting in Longford and Abbott, Covidien, Integra, GeneMedix elsewhere in the region generally.

In addition, the region is home to International Business Services companies such as Teleflex, AXA, NPD Group and PPD. All of these companies are an attraction for potential IDA Ireland clients to locate in the Midlands and to provide employment opportunities for people living in both Westmeath and Longford.

The arrival of Jazz Pharmaceuticals to Athlone along with the announcement of investment by Alexion Pharma combined with the existing presence of Alkermes, employing in the region of 400 staff identifies a new cluster in the Midlands in biopharmaceuticals and this will be presented to potential new name companies in the market place.

In the indigenous sector, there are over 4,000 people employed in Enterprise Ireland-supported jobs in Westmeath and Longford. As recently as last month C&D Foods announced the opening of a new facility in Co. Longford creating 70 jobs.

Within this indigenous sector, over 600 are employed in the medical technology-related industries in the indigenous sector, in areas such as manufacturing to delivery of elements of the supply chain.

I have been working with my Department on the development of a framework for the formulation of Regional Enterprise Strategies that will enable us to identify the sustainable competitive strengths of each region and to better integrate the efforts of the enterprise development agencies and other regional stakeholders in supporting enterprise growth and jobs in areas of potential. It is my intention that this framework will be applied initially to produce action-oriented plans to support enterprise growth and jobs in the Midlands region and the South East region. Learning in these regions will inform any adaptations that might need to be made prior to the framework being applied to other regions in the course of 2015.

EmploymentinIDA Ireland-supported companies in Longford and Westmeath 2009-2013