Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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158. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to detail the number of IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland-supported jobs that have been created in counties Longford and Westmeath since 2011; if he will confirm the locations of these jobs in these counties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5334/15]

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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159. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide, in tabular form, the number of visits by IDA Ireland to Athlone and Mullingar in County Westmeath and to County Longford for every year since 2011 to 2014 and to 2015 to date. [5336/15]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 158 and 159 together.

I am informed by IDA Ireland that there were 43 IDA-sponsored site visits by potential investors to County Westmeath since 2011. There were no visits to County Longford during this period. The number of visits to Co. Westmeath in each of the years 2011 to 2014 are set out in the following tabular statement (A). For reasons of commercial sensitivity and client confidentiality information in relation to site visits is given on a county by county basis only. While IDA Ireland does seek to influence, decisions as to where to visit and where to locate is ultimately a matter for the investor.

IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland have a strong presence in Counties Longford and Westmeath. Counties Longford and Westmeath are home to 22 IDA Ireland client companies employing 3,055 people. As well as the FDI sector, there are 5,796 people employed in 149 Enterprise Ireland-supported jobs in Westmeath and Longford. The Annual Employment Survey shows that since 2011, there were a total of 2,537 jobs created in IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland companies in Westmeath and Longford in the period 2011 to 2014, 780 of which were created in IDA Ireland client companies with 1,757 being created in Enterprise Ireland supported companies. The breakdown of employment in respect of the years 2011 to 2014 in Co. Westmeath and Co. Longford and by agency is outlined in the following tabular statements (B).

Information for the Annual Survey is gathered on an annual basis and aggregated at county level. Data is supplied by individual companies on a confidential basis for statistical purposes only so it is not possible to provide information in respect of individual locations. Counties Longford and Westmeath are part of IDA Ireland’s Midlands Region, along with the counties of Roscommon, Laois and Offaly. The Region has a strong cluster in Medical Technology and Life Sciences and is home to key IDA Ireland 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 IDA Mullingar Business and Technology Park is an essential infrastructure to provide for FDI clients and also for indigenous companies interested in developing their business in the Midlands. For example, Patterson Pumps acquired a 1.62 hectare site from IDA under leasehold title in the Mullingar Business and Technology Park and are currently on site.

Growing both Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and indigenous enterprise is key to Ireland’s economic recovery. I am glad to inform the Deputy that 2014 was a record year for both IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland in terms of investment wins and job creation, with 7,131 net new jobs being created in IDA Ireland client companies and 8,476 net new jobs being created in Enterprise Ireland client companies.

As the Deputy is aware, the Action Plan for Jobs 2015 was launched on Thursday last, 29th January. This is the fourth annual plan in a multi-year process, which started in 2012. When the First Action Plan for Jobs was launched, unemployment stood at 15.1%. Today it stands at 10.6% and we are on track to exceed our target of 100,000 additional jobs by 2016. We are now setting a goal to bring employment to 2.1 million by 2018 – 2 years ahead of our original target.

We are determined that every region will benefit from the recovery and we will be announcing over the coming weeks and months a series of actions to help drive the achievement of this goal.

Table shows the number of IDA Ireland sponsored Site Visits by potential investors to County Westmeath from 2011 to 2014 (A).