Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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259. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which her Department proposes to distribute jobs throughout the economy on a regional basis to facilitate a balanced growth throughout the country; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6631/17]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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264. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which she and her Department have identified job creation requirements throughout the regions, notwithstanding the commitments already in place; the locations in which further enhancement is required; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6636/17]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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265. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which she and her Department have identified the optimum number of jobs likely to be created or in need of creation throughout the regions outside of the greater Dublin area in the next five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6637/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 259, 264 and 265 together.

Since the first Action Plan for Jobs was launched in 2012, almost 190,000 more people are now at work across the country. 72% of all jobs created in the past year were created outside Dublin, with employment growing in all regions over the past year.

The success of the Regional Action Plans for Jobs is crucial to supporting the Government’s ambition to help create 200,000 additional jobs by 2020, including 135,000 outside Dublin. The Regional Action Plan initiative aims to support employment growth by working with local stakeholders to identify and develop each region’s own sectoral strengths and areas of economic opportunity.

A key objective of the plans is to have a further 10 to 15 per cent at work in each region by 2020. The targets for additional jobs to be created in each region is set out in the table:

The first Progress Reports prepared by the 8 Regional Action Plan Implementation Committees have been published. While at an early stage, the reports show that good progress is being made in the implementation of the Regional APJs. All regions are on target to meet or exceed the job targets to be delivered by 2020.

In 2016, almost two thirds of new jobs created by Enterprise Ireland supported companies, and over half of those created by IDA supported companies, were outside Dublin. Enterprise Ireland’s strategy for 2017-2020 aims to create a further 60,000 jobs, while sustaining existing ones; IDA will continue to target a minimum increase in investment of 30% to 40% in each region outside Dublin to 2019.

To support the regional jobs agenda, I have ensured that additional funds will be made available through the enterprise development agencies out to 2020. In June 2016, I announced an initial allocation of €5m in competitive funding for 48 local and regional initiatives under two of these calls. All regions benefitted under this initiative.

My Department and Enterprise Ireland are finalising plans for a further regional funding initiative of up to €60m to support collaborative approaches to grow and sustain jobs across the regions. Additional funding of €150m is being made available to the IDA to support its Regional Property Programme and drive job creation in the multi-national sector.