Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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222. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he is aware that the Athy area in County Kildare is a jobs black-spot; the investment and resources he has put into rectifying this situation since March 2011; and his plans to address this unacceptable situation. [46130/15]

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 over 135,000 across the economy as a whole and has exceeded the initial target set by the Government for 2016. All regions have experienced jobs growth, but the rate of progress in some regions is less than in others. That is why the Government is placing an increased emphasis on supporting job creation in the regions this year.

The Regional Action Plans for Jobs Initiative was launched by Government in February of this year. The purpose of this initiative is to identify a range of actions over the period 2015 - 2017 aimed at facilitating each region to achieve its economic potential and raise employment levels in each of the regions.

The Action Plan for Jobs for the Mid East region, which includes Athy, is currently under development and is expected to be launched in early 2016. As with other plans, it will include a series of practical actions, developed in collaboration with regional stakeholders, to support enterprise growth and job creation across the Mid East region and enable the region as a whole to realise its economic potential and create jobs.

The primary objective of each of the plans published to date is to have a further 10 to 15 per cent at work in each region by 2020 and to ensure the unemployment rate of each region is within one per cent of the State average. Key targets in the Regional Action Plans published to date are to increase the number of entrepreneurs/start-ups in each region by a minimum of 25%, improve the 5-year survival rate by 25% and improve scaling performance of companies by 25%.

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.

In April 2014, a new Regional aid map was published, providing details of areas of the country in which the State can grant State aid, at enhanced rates, to businesses to support development and employment. Under the revised map, Athy has been included as an eligible area. This presents a significant opportunity for developing businesses, supporting employment, and growing the enterprise base in Athy. Regional aid can be given to businesses to support new investment and new employment in productive projects, and can also be provided under schemes for tourism grants, urban and rural renewal and other tax-based development schemes.

In March 2011, there were 18,207 people recorded on the Live Register in Kildare County. This number has since fallen to 13,851 as at November 2015.

Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland have also placed an increased emphasis on the regions in their new corporate strategies. Enterprise Ireland works with entrepreneurs and business people across the full business development spectrum - from early-stage entrepreneurs, to established business owners and Irish multinational companies. Earlier this year IDA Ireland launched its 5 year strategy for the period 2015 to 2019 which aims to create 80,000 new jobs in the economy over the period and increase investment into each region by between 30% and 40%. Meanwhile, the Local Enterprise Offices are committed to providing consistent supports for microenterprises across all regions and acting as a first-stop-shop in delivering business growth and jobs for the small and micro-enterprise sector.