Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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233. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the details of North-South co-operation between Enterprise Ireland and the Industrial Development Agency Ireland and their Northern counterparts in 2014 and 2015; the North-South co-operation that has been delivered by their foreign offices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42592/15]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Both of our main development agencies, Enterprise Ireland(EI) and IDA Ireland, engage with relevant bodies in Northern Ireland to pursue areas of mutual advantage. Developing all-island initiatives and cooperation can, in certain circumstances, better build our competitive advantage internationally.

Extensive links have been forged by EI with various agencies and bodies in Northern Ireland and that Agency’s work in this context has focused on liaison with, and participation in - the Ireland Fund; Joint Business Council; International Fund for Ireland; Special EU Programmes Body; the North South Secretariat; as well as local authority- led cross border networks.

In particular there is close co-operation between Invest Northern Ireland(INI) and EI. A Memorandum of Understanding is in place between EI and INI to enable clients of both agencies to access market services, trade missions/fairs, and seminars of one another and to provide INI clients with access to EI management development programmes such as Leadership 4 Growthand the International Selling Programme. Regular bi-lateral discussions and meetings are held between the various parties. There is also close collaboration between EI, INI and InterTrade Ireland (ITI) on the specific Cross Border programmes which are run by the latter body, in order to ensure effective operation and non-duplication.

Enterprise Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland cooperated in relation to a Trade Mission to Singapore in December 2013 which was specifically targeted at companies from both jurisdictions who are active in the aerospace sector. I was delighted to have been involved with the Northern Ireland Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment Ms. Arlene Foster MLA, in shared promotional events on that Trade Mission.

In relation to IDA Ireland, that Agency cooperates with INI in the context of regional and all-island economic development, recognising appropriate opportunities to pursue mutually beneficial cross border co-operation on aspects of economic policy and infrastructure/spatial planning. An example of shared co-operation between IDA and INI was the jointly developed North West Business Technology Zone (NWBTZ). The fundamental aim of this initiative was to capitalise on the combined strengths of Letterkenny and Derry City as an economic corridor. The focus was on developing compatible infrastructure and property solutions, which are now in place, to assist in the enhancement of the region’s attractiveness for investment.

Where appropriate, IDA Ireland and INI co-operate on company visits where both jurisdictions are being considered by foreign companies. These visits are, in the main, usually initiated by IDA’s network of overseas offices. However, it should be noted that IDA Ireland competes with INI Ireland for inward investment in certain areas.

The economies of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland both have a highly educated workforce and the IDA highlights this competitive advantage to perspective investors. To this end, the skills pool available both North and South of the Border are presented to potential investors as a key competitive advantage of investing in the Border region on the island of Ireland. For example, PayPal now located in Dundalk, made a decision to invest in this location based on the pool of skilled staff it could recruit from the large catchment area incorporating both sides of the Border. Its operation is now a significant employer in the region, having had a number of investment expansions since initially established.