Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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452. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which foreign direct investment and indigenous investment has contributed to job creation in County Kildare over the past four years to date in 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23281/16]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Kildare is home to 22 multinational companies employing a total of 10,313 people, with significant businesses such as Intel, Hewlett Packard and Procter & Gamble established in the county. The broader Mid-East region, of which Kildare forms part, has seen unemployment fall from 12.7% in early 2012 to 5.9% at the end of quarter one in 2016. This reflects the region’s strong economic performance since 2012. The indigenous sector in Kildare has also performed well over recent years. There were 8,308 people employed in Enterprise Ireland client companies in 2015, up from 5,906 in 2011.

Enterprise Ireland has a range of support measures available to businesses to help them compete in international markets including capability in sales and marketing, R&D, operations and production, HR and organisational strategy, finance and investment, business strategy and start-up investment. To date in 2016, Enterprise Ireland made payments of €3,742,435 to its client companies in Co. Kildare. In 2015 payments of €2,061,377 were made to companies in the County. This was primarily to support new business employment, R&D, capital investment and staff training.