Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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156. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation further to previous parliamentary questions, if he has given further consideration on how best to promote and learn from the success of Killorglin in County Kerry as a rural town with high employment levels in an array of industries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36968/15]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The Regional Action Plan for Jobs approach that I am currently rolling out is fundamentally based on leveraging the strengths inherent in each region. Killorglin, as emphasised in a previous parliamentary question, is a shining example of a strong rural town with a vibrant economy primarily due to a handful of great companies at its core, namely Fexco, Astellas and Temmler. After five months of extensive stakeholder consultation and engagement, the South West Action Plan for Jobs was launched on Friday 3rd July 2015. The aim of this Action Plan for Jobs for the South West is to develop the full potential of the region for enterprise and job creation, building upon its assets and areas of competitive advantage. This translates to having a further 10 to 15 per cent at work in the region by 2020 and to ensure the unemployment rate is within 1% of the State average. Achieving this goal in the South West will contribute to the overall ambition of creating sustainable full employment in Ireland from 2018 onwards.

Efforts are underway to increase the economic prosperity of rural towns in both Cork and Kerry. The agri-food sector is particularly strong in the South West as highlighted by the South West Action Plan and the Plan aspires to boost agri-clustering initiatives throughout the region. A noteworthy example is the Listowel Food Hub Committee which is being supported by Dr. Edmond Harty of Dairymaster. The idea for the hub arose out of a task force that was set up by Minister for the Diaspora Jimmy Deenihan to boost employment in north Kerry and the hope is that it will become a significant source of employment and the centre of a vibrant, local food industry.

The Action Plan for Jobs for the South West Region seeks to take advantage of particular areas of strength and opportunity for the Region. The region comprises of:

- a diversified enterprise mix and hosts a range of indigenous and foreign subsidiaries operating on international markets including agri-food and drink, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, precision engineering and in ICT products, services and solutions;

- world renowned heritage, cultural and tourism assets and resources and strong brands of Kerry and Cork as destinations in international markets;

- emerging strengths and potential in areas such as energy, healthcare and smart infrastructure;

- increasing rates of entrepreneurship and startups across the spectrum of sectors;

- productivity levels which are above the State average;

- a unique mix of education and research assets including UCC (in the top 2% of universities worldwide), Tralee and Cork Institutes of Technology and Teagasc at Moorepark, each involved in world class research;

- strong international physical connectivity, with European air services from the State airport at Cork and at Kerry airport, together with nine sea ports; and

- digital connectivity through a new international broadband connectivity being deployed directly from the region to North America.

Following the successful national Action Plan for Jobs model and in order to ensure that the Plan is delivered, a comprehensive implementation structure is currently being finalised. Deadlines and lead organisations are assigned in the case of each action, an Implementation Committee has being put in place, and Progress Reports and implementation levels will be published every six months. The first progress report is due in Q1 2016.