Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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237. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the aspects of the north-west and north-east regional action plan that will target the chronic lack of investment in County Donegal, which has led to low numbers of job creation in the past number of years in comparison with the rest of the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42824/15]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Since the start of the Action Plan for Jobs process in 2012, employment has increased by 135,800 across the economy as a whole and has exceeded the initial target set by the Government for 2016. Over 20,000 jobs have been created in the North East/North West region, which includes Donegal, since 2012. Jobs supported by the Enterprise Agencies in the region - IDA, Enterprise Ireland, and Údarás na Gaeltachta - have increased by 2,877 since the beginning of 2012. Unemployment in this region has fallen from a high of 17.8% to the current rate of 9.3% since the Action Plan for Jobs was launched.

The objective of the Regional Action Plans is to capitalise on the strengths and assets of each region to further maximise enterprise growth and job creation. The initiative is building on the success of the national Action Plan for Jobs, and encouraging regional stakeholders - including enterprise agencies, Local Authorities, higher education institutions, other public bodies and the private sector - to come forward with innovative ideas to boost job creation in their own region.

The purpose of these Regional Action Plans is to build on existing strengths and opportunities in each region, and while individual plans may reference infrastructure issues, it is not the intention to address such issues within these plans as these are prioritised within the Government’s National Capital Expenditure Framework in the areas where it can achieve greatest benefit and value for money.

The Action Plan for the North East/North West, which includes Donegal, was launched on Monday 30 November. The plan identifies collaborative measures that will enable the region as a whole to realise its economic potential and create jobs.

Key targets for the North East/North West region are to increase employment by 10 to 15% over the period to 2020, win 61 FDI investments by 2019, increase the number of start-ups in the region by a minimum of 25%, and improve the survival rate of new businesses by 25%.

A number of actions target the particular strengths and assets of the North West. IDA will collaborate with Enterprise Agencies, ETBs and Institutes of Technology to develop a marketing proposition to support an Insurance and Technical Services cluster; Udaras na Gaeltachta will support the creation of 300-500 new jobs in Gaeltacht regions; a North West Skills Forum will be established to increase the flow of critical skills to the region; Fáilte Ireland will promote and market the Wild Atlantic Way and will examine the development of new loops to encourage a greater spread of visitors to the region; and the development of a Renewable Energy Innovation Centre at Killybegs will be explored to maximise the potential of the North West’s natural resources.

In addition, as part of its property programme, IDA has committed to investing in new property solutions in Sligo and Dundalk, amongst other centres, over the next three years.

All regional Action Plans will be supported by investment of up to €250 million over the next five years, including €150 million for a property investment programme by IDA Ireland. The intention is that a further sum of up to €100 million will be made available over the next five years through three competitive calls to be administered by Enterprise Ireland. These competitive calls will be targeted at innovative and collaborative approaches to support job creation across the regions.