Written answers

Thursday, 16 July 2015

Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Industrial Development

Photo of Dara CallearyDara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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280. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he has examined mandating the Industrial Development Agency and Enterprise Ireland to jointly establish a new unit to attract and support small scale foreign direct investment to rural towns; the approximate cost of this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29837/15]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland are both enterprise development agencies operating under the aegis of my Department. Enterprise Ireland (EI) is the agency responsible for the development and promotion of the Irish business sector and its focus is on the growth of world-class Irish companies to achieve strong positions in global markets. On the other hand, IDA Ireland’s focus is on attracting foreign direct investment that is value added, requires high skill levels and a sophisticated business environment to maximize their business potential.

Job creation and retention is central to all activities undertaken by Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. In this context, of course, it is the case that the agencies share similar objectives in the development of the enterprise base and the business-environment in Ireland. This includes joint work on the growth of new and existing business sectors in Ireland, the support of collaborative R&D among and between Irish-owned companies and multinationals based here, the facilitation of networks and clusters which enhance enterprises’ ability to innovate, partner and source with each other, and a range of other on-going activities.

The Action Plan for Jobs 2015 includes a commitment to develop and publish a suit of regional Action Plans to support enterprise growth, regional job creation and to better integrate the efforts of the enterprise development agencies and other regional stakeholders in supporting enterprises development in the regions. The Midland regional Action Plan for Jobs was launched on 29 June. The South West Action Plan for Jobs, the second of 8 regional jobs plans, was launched on 3 July with the aim of delivering 10-15% employment growth in each region over the coming years. The South West Plan contains 250 collaborative actions. It is the cumulative effect of these measurers in the action plans and the collaboration which they will bring about in their delivery which will make a real and last impact on the jobs potential of each region.

The Succeed in Ireland initiative, which was launched by the Government as part of the 2012 Action Plan for Jobs is designed to lead to additional job creation. The scheme is delivered on behalf of IDA Ireland by Connect Ireland to support any potential investors identified to locate in Ireland. Over the current lifetime of the programme Connect Ireland has submitted 46 projects to IDA Ireland for consideration under the Succeed in Ireland Initiative. These projects have the potential to deliver 1,298 jobs, many in rural locations.

Regional development is a major component of IDA Ireland’s new corporate strategy – entitled Winning – Foreign Direct Investment 2015-2019. For the first time ambitious FDI investment targets have been set for each region, with a strong focus on securing an increased share of investments across the country. Central to this is a strong ambition for employment growth throughout all regions over the lifetime of the strategy.

A number of years ago I also established an Enterprise Ireland/IDA Ireland Senior Management Team, comprising representatives from both organisations, to drive effective collaboration. Among the key initiatives being jointly undertaken by EI and IDA are:

- Collaborating on the Technology Centres initiative which sees Irish and foreign owned companies work together on agreed research programmes.

- Driving effective collaboration between respective teams in Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland working on the overseas entrepreneurs and emerging businesses agenda.

It is my belief the increasing levels of collaboration between the agencies will assist Irish owned business grow, while developing and deepening the impact of foreign direct investment.

I am satisfied with the level of co-operation between both agencies and there are no plans to change the mandate of the agencies.

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