David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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219. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she is aware of the Central Statistics Office's quarterly national household survey for the first quarter of 2016, which shows dangerously high levels of unemployment in the south east at 12.5%; her views that urgent and strategic action is necessary; the details on what short, medium and long-term interventions she will take to create and sustain jobs in the region; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13907/16]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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220. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the actions that have been taken by the south-east economic jobs forum set up by her predecessor; her views that given the figures contained in the Central Statistics Office's quarterly national household survey for the first quarter of 2016 of 12.5% unemployment in the region that more needs to be done; the further actions the forum intends to take; how often the forum has met since its establishment, in tabular form; the persons who sit on the forum; the actions agreed and implemented; the further actions to be delivered; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13908/16]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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221. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the actions Industrial Development Agency Ireland and Enterprise Ireland will take to reduce unemployment and create employment in the south east; if they will prioritise the south east given the Central Statistics Office's quarterly national household survey for the first quarter of 2016 of 12.5% unemployment in the region; the jobs each of these organisations has created and lost in the south east in each of the years from 2013 to 2016 to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13909/16]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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222. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the steps she will take to implement the recommendations in the south-east economic development strategy published by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13910/16]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 219 to 222, inclusive, together.

The recent economic crisis hit the South East’s job numbers badly with the loss of 37,800 jobs from Q1 2007 to Q1 2012. However, through the focused collaborative approach and a range of reforms delivered in the region over the recent years, the unemployment rate has fallen from a peak of 20.1 per cent in Q1 2012 to 12.5 per cent in Q1 2016, with 204,400 now at work, which is an increase of 23,100 over the period.

While the unemployment rate is still too high, the figures demonstrate that the overall trend is one of steady recovery and I am working relentlessly with the various agencies and stakeholders in the South East to ensure that this trend continues and jobs are ultimately created.

The South East Economic Forum referred to by the Deputy was established to drive the recommendations of the South East Employment Action Plan, developed in late 2011. The Forum met on five occasions and its membership comprised representatives from this Department and its enterprise agencies, County Councils, the education sector, Teagasc and Fáilte Ireland, The Forum progressed a significant number of actions from the Plan. However with the development of the broader South East Regional Action Plan for Jobs, the role of the Forum was subsumed into the implementation process for that Plan and many of the organisations that were represented on the Forum continue to be involved.

I am particularly pleased that the implementation of many of the key recommendations of the South East Action Plan for Jobs and the South East Economic Development Strategy (SEEDS) reports are having a demonstrable impact on the performance of the South East region. The remaining recommendations in the Plan and some actions set out in the South East Economic Development Strategy have been incorporated into the South East Action Plan for Jobs where appropriate, and are currently being implemented through that mechanism.

The core objective of the South East Regional Action Plan for Jobs, launched in September 2015, is to support an ambitious programme of enterprise growth and job creation in the region. The primary objective of the Plan is to realise the potential to have a further 10-15 per cent at work in the region by 2020 so as to ensure the unemployment rate is within the 1 per cent of the State average.

Among the short, medium and long term actions in the Action Plan to be delivered over the period 2015-2017 include increasing Start-ups/SMEs by 30%; increasing IDA supported investments in the region; a 20% increase in jobs in exporting companies, in particular in manufacturing, agrifood, businesses services and biopharma/medtech; an 85% increase in agri-food exports over the next 10 years and delivering 300,000 extra tourists and 5,000 associated jobs. The implementation of South East Action Plan is being led by a collaborative enterprise and public sector Group, chaired by enterprise champion Frank O'Regan, with the active support of regional stakeholders, including Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. My Department is working closely with the Group as it progresses the Plan. The first progress report of the Plan will be completed and published in Q3 2016.

In relation to the IDA’s role in the South East, the Region has 71 IDA client companies who collectively employ 12,766 people. The number of jobs created and lost in IDA supported companies from 2013 to 2015 are outlined in the following table. The figures for 2016 will not be available until completion of IDA’s annual employment survey which takes place in November each year.

IDA Ireland’s strategy, WINNING Foreign Direct Investment 2015 - 2019, sets out challenging targets including a minimum of 30% to 40% increase in the number of investment for each region outside of Dublin.

Currently, IDA positions the South East in the market place as an investment location with a strong ecosystem of both indigenous and multinational companies operating across a diverse range of sectors. In particular there are strong clusters in the Life Sciences and Financial Services/Business Services sectors, as well as strong FDI Engineering manufacturing businesses, which have contributed to new significant FDI investments.

In relation to Enterprise Ireland’s role, the Agency has 524 clients in the South East region which range in size from early stage start-ups to large companies. Employment data for EI is collected annually. Therefore, it is not possible to provide employment figures for 2016 as requested by the Deputy however the job figures for the South East region for the period 2013-2015 are outlined in the following table.

In 2015, Enterprise Ireland invested €11.639m in Client Companies in the South East region. From 2011 to 2015, EI approved Innovative High Potential Support to 25 companies in the region, with over €12m of support approved. In addition, 20 start-up companies from the region secured funding of €50,000 each under the Competitive start Fund. Ongoing investment in the region, together with delivery of its suite of enterprise supports, will continue as part of Enterprise Ireland’s continued effort to drive job creation in the South East.