Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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28. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the efforts made to date and being undertaken at present to attract an industry or manufacturing facility to a location (details supplied) in County Cavan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7866/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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County Cavan is marketed together with Louth and Monaghan as part of IDA Ireland’s North East Region. There are 33 multinational companies based in the North East, employing 4,556 people across the Region (Annual Employment Survey 2015). Seven of these multinationals are located in Cavan, employing 1,165 staff. County Cavan also has a strong indigenous industry base across a wide range of sectors. There were 4,222 people employed in Enterprise Ireland-assisted companies in the county in 2015 (Annual Employment Survey 2015). This is a gain of 190 on the previous year.

IDA Ireland currently positions the North East as having strong clusters in international business services (eBay, PayPal, Liberty Mutual) and manufacturing (Becton Dickinson, Wellman, Abbott). The presence of these international brands is an attraction when companies are considering locating to the North East. IDA Ireland will continue to market Cavan to relevant FDI opportunities, enquiries and potential investors through the IDA network.

The IDA Ireland lands in Killygarry consist of a c.17 hectare business and technology park. There are currently c.11 hectares of serviced marketable land available on the park, which are currently zoned as ‘industrial and employment’. The main tenant is ATA Group, which is an Enterprise Ireland client.

Regional development is fundamental to IDA Ireland’s five-year strategy entitled ‘Winning – Foreign Direct Investment 2015-2019’, which targets a minimum 30% to 40% increase in the number of investments for every region.

This Government, through the development of the Action Plan for Jobs – Regional, has placed an increased emphasis on supporting business development and job growth in all regions. Published last November, the Action Plan for Jobs for the North East/North West covers counties Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan, Monaghan and Louth. The Plan aims to develop the full potential of the region by building on its strengths and supporting new and established businesses in order to stimulate and grow exports.