Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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157. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will address the concerns for regional development in the south east following the closure of a pharmaceutical plant (details supplied) in County Tipperary; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6566/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Supporting enterprise development in all regions of the country in order to support job creation is a key objective of the Government, with initiatives such as the regional Action Plans for Jobs seeking to capitalise on the strengths and assets of each region to maximise enterprise growth and job creation. The project to develop jobs plans for each of the 8 regions was in part informed by the success of the work of the South East Forumestablished in 2012, which set about the task of rebuilding the economy of the South East to a more sustainable, export oriented and higher value added base.

Through the focused collaborative approach as part of the South East Forum and a range of reforms delivered in the region, over the period Q1 2012 to Q4 2015 the unemployment rate in the South-East has fallen from 20.1 to 11.9 per cent and the numbers employed have increased by 24,100 to reach 204,500.

The new South East Plan, covering counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford, waslaunched on 7 September last and builds on and expands this process.

The core objective of the Plan is to support the creation of 25,000 extra jobs in the region by 2020.

Key sectors targeted as part of the plan include agri-food, tourism, life sciences, manufacturing, retail and financial services/business services.

Key actions in the plan to be delivered over the period 2015-2017 include: completing construction of new advanced technology and industrial buildings in Waterford and Carlow; establishing a new Regional Skills Forum to ensure closer collaboration between employers and the education system in identifying and meeting the skills needs of the region; developing world-leading sector clusters and ecosystems in the South East, led by industry, in the key areas of precision engineering, FinTech and business services, agri-food and drink, biopharma and medical devices and seafood; and continuing to build on the progress achieved in relation the development of a Technological University in the South East to act as a catalyst and stimulus of economic, social and cultural development for the region.

Since the Plan was launched on 7 September last, focus has moved to putting in place a comprehensive implementation structure. A Regional Implementation Committee has been established and has already met on two occasions to review progress on the delivery of the Plan’s actions. The first Progress Report on the implementation of the South-East Action Plan for Jobs, covering the period to end-June 2016, will be completed and published in Q3 2016.

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. 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 are being targeted at innovative and collaborative approaches to support job creation across the regions.

On 22 January, a €3m Regional Accelerator Scheme was launched, which aims ultimately to create more accelerator spaces in the regions where start-ups can locate their businesses and access supports. It is targeted that a further €3m will be leveraged with additional private sector investment to support this entrepreneurship initiative. This Regional Accelerator Scheme was the first competitive initiative to be launched under the €40m competitive regional jobs fund announced by the Government on 15 January.

Other elements of this fund to be rolled out over the coming months include:

Opportunities to drive greater company/sector collaboration/clustering in the regions

Driving procurement opportunities for start-ups and established small businesses

Strengthening Third-level as a driver of regional enterprise

Strengthening the start-up ecosystem locally

In relation to the closure of the pharmaceutical plant referred to in the Deputy’s question, this factory has been under threat for some time. Following the takeover by another major pharmaceutical company in 2014, the new owners has excess capacity and decided to close some plants, including the Cashel operation, unless a new buyer could be found. The IDA has had ongoing engagement with senior management, both locally and in India since the Cashel facility was identified for divestment. The parent company put the plant up for sale last year and, since then, the IDA actively pursued potential buyers from the pharmaceutical sector, through its network of offices both in Ireland and overseas. Despite a number of interested parties being brought to visit the plant by the IDA, no investor was secured within the time frame set out by the company and its closure was announced on 31 March. The factory is still owned by the company and the IDA will continue to market it to their other client companies.