Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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16. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his Department's efforts in respect of a proposal by a company (details supplied); if he will update Dáil Éireann on the overarching strategy for Ireland in respect of such enterprise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37151/15]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The investment in this particular case will involve an expenditure of about €200m on a Data Centre. I myself met the company earlier this year to discuss the proposal and I arranged that IDA Ireland was closely engaged with them during the development of the initiative.

The provision of major Data Centres is a significant feature of our wider work to develop the Digital Economy in Ireland and to broaden the footprint of the ICT sector here. What has become known as ‘Big Data’ is a growth area and one with significant potential to create highly skilled jobs here. The construction of Data Centres generates a significant number of construction jobs and expenditure on goods and services and, after completion, while the number of ongoing permanent jobs is usually modest, such Centres have a significant life span.

My Department and its Agencies therefore actively pursue the development of these Centres in Ireland and we have been very successful in doing so. Major world players such as Google, Microsoft, Digital Reality, Amazon, IBM, EMC and ADOBE have made significant investments over recent years. While most such Centres are located in or close to Dublin, a very welcome announcement earlier this year was the decision of Apple to locate in County Galway and the Centre the Deputy refers to in her question will be located in County Meath.

In order that we have the right conditions in place to improve our attractiveness, we have addressed a range of issues. These include ensuring that a top-class telecoms infrastructure is in place, that appropriate electricity supplies are to hand, that suitably skilled staff are available, that we have strong Data Protection legislation and that Research Capabilities in related key technologies are in place, including the funding of Research and Technology Centres.