Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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246. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of Industrial Development Agency sponsored visits that took place in Ballinasloe, County Galway, between 2011 and 2014; the number of agency supported companies in Ballinasloe between 2011 and 2014; the agency’s plans to encourage job creation in Ballinasloe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8862/15]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by IDA Ireland that in the four year period 2011 to 2014 inclusive, there has been a total of 87 IDA Ireland sponsored site visits by potential investors to County Galway. The number of site visits paid in each of the years in question is set out in the tabular statement. For reasons of client confidentiality and commercial sensitivity, such as the potential impact on future property transactions, it is prudent to provide details of such visits on a county by county basis only.

In respect of Ballinasloe, there is currently one IDA client company, Aptar, which manufactures cosmetic dispensing systems. Aptar is based in the IDA Business & Technology Park, where the other major tenant is Creagh Medical, an Enterprise Ireland medical technology company. They occupy 65,000 ft² and 29,000 ft² facilities respectively. Across its range of overseas offices, IDA Ireland actively markets the remaining available land on the park , approximately 24 acres, for new investment.

IDA also works closely with the private property sector to influence the provision of appropriate and cost effective solutions suitable for mobile FDI opportunities and markets appropriate existing private sector buildings. IDA is actively marketing the former AT Cross building in Ballinasloe which is a c.20,000 ft² facility on a 10 acre site with an existing Planning Permission for c.54,000 ft² facility with a c.9-mth construction time frame. IDA also actively markets another c.25,000 ft² building in Ballinasloe. From an FDI promotion perspective these are both very attractive and appropriate properties.

County Galway has had particular success in recent years in terms of attracting inward investment particularly in the areas of Medical Technologies and ICT. The 2014 Annual Employment Survey shows that there are 63 IDA Ireland client companies in Galway (City and County) an increase from 2011 when the corresponding figure was 60. These companies employ over 13,800 people in full and part time employment. In the four year period from 2011 to 2014, almost 5,000 new jobs were created in IDA Ireland client companies in Galway ( City and County).

As a Government, we are determined to ensure that every region in the country will will benefit from recovery and we recently announced details of the Action Plan for Jobs-Regional initiative which will seek to maximise the strengths and assets of each region to support enterprise growth and job creation. The objective is that six Regional Action Plans will be launched by July, with two remaining Strategies in development at that stage.

Additionally the Government will provide up to €250 million over five years in additional capital funding to support regional enterprise development. This includes the roll out of a five year, €150 million property investment programme by IDA Ireland to attract foreign direct investment into the regions. This programme will build on the recent investment by the Agency in a number of advance manufacturing facilities in regional locations. A further sum of up to €100 million will be available to Enterprise Ireland to support enterprises in the regions to start-up, grow and export, thereby creating more jobs in regional locations.

Last week I also launched IDA Ireland’s new strategy for the 5 year period 2015 to 2019. In that Strategy the Agency set itself a target of winning 900 investments over the 5 year period of increasing increase the level of investments won into in each region by between 30% and 40% during the lifetime of the strategy.

To date this year there have been two significant announcements for County Galway. Apple announced last week that it is to invest €850 million in a data centre to be built and located in Derrydonell near Athenry, Co. Galway. The new centre will be the company’s largest data centre project in Europe, providing 300 jobs during its multiple phases. In January Zimmer, a worldwide leader in musculoskeletal health care, announced that it will invest over €50m and create up to 250 new manufacturing jobs over the next 5 years as it expands its footprint in Ireland in its new facility in Oranmore, Co. Galway. I look forward to continuing investment and job announcements for county Galway and the West region during the year

Table showing the number of IDA sponsored site visits by potential Investors to County Galway (incl. Galway City) in each of the years 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014