Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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165. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide, in tabular form, the number of Enterprise Ireland and Industrial Development Agency jobs created in County Limerick for the years 2011 to 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16607/15]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The number of jobs created by Enterprise Ireland (EI) and Industrial Development Agency (IDA) supported businesses in County Limerick for 2011-2014 is set out in Tables 1 and 2.

In terms of job creation, Enterprise Ireland activity is focussed on the creation of new jobs through supporting entrepreneurs setting up new High Potential Start-Up Companies, the retention and creation of jobs in existing companies and in enhancing the innovation capability at a national and regional level through support of research in companies and third level institutions.

EI works with over 240 client companies in Limerick City and County who employ 6,321 employees. In 2014, €6.4 million in new grants was paid to EI clients in the City and County through a wide range of supports.

EI is specifically targeting potential business start-ups through a number of support programmes including:

- EI on behalf of my Department held a Stakeholder Forum in Limerick on 16 April 2015 as part of the planning process for the Regional Action Plan for Jobs for the Mid-West Region.

- EI ran a Competitive Regional Feasibility Fund of 250K in the Mid-West Region which closed on 18 November 2014. There were 17 applications received from the four counties.

- EI participated in the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation ‘Taking Care of Business’ Information Day for Enterprises in Limerick in March 2014.

Through the Industrial Development Agency (IDA), State supported FDI employment in Limerick, as per the Annual Employment Survey 2014, comprised 48 companies employing 7,906 people.

The investment projects that IDA is seeking to attract to Limerick today are much different to those of the past, relying principally on the skills of its people and on a strong business and educational infrastructure to pull investment to the County. IDA’s strategy is to re-position the region as a hotspot for knowledge-based industry, while focusing on marketing Limerick as a key location for investment by building on the strengths already evident in the County. To support this strategy, IDA Ireland works closely with Educational Institutions in the region to develop the skill sets necessary to attract high value-added employment to the County. IDA is also working closely with the existing base of employers to encourage additional investment, particularly in activities such as Research & Development, customer support and back office functions. IDA works closely with Shannon Commercial Properties in the provision of suitable property solutions for potential investors to the County.

There were a number of important investment announcements in County Limerick during 2014. To date in 2015, the following 4 investment announcements were made for Limerick and Shannon.

April 2015: Dell announced that it is creating 100 new Innovation Technology R&D roles at its Limerick Campus. This investment in digital innovation will support the company’s ongoing technology transformation enhancing the end to end sales, customer and partner experience.

March 2015: Northern Trustannounced that it is expanding its operation at its second site in Limerick with the creation of a further 300 jobs. Limerick’s Northern Trust operations will now reach over 1,000 staff by 2017.

January 2015: Viagogo,the world’s largest ticket marketplace, intends to double its workforce in Ireland over the next three years, taking it from 100 to over 200.

January 2015: AMAX a leading manufacturer of dynamic Data Centre & Cloud, Custom Server Appliance and High Performance Computing (HPC) solutions announced the facility will provide a hundred jobs over the next five years in production, warehousing, finance and sales in the local community.