Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Since becoming Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, I have made jobs and enterprise in the regions my top priority.

The Regional Action Plan for Jobs initiative is a central pillar of the Government’s ambition to create 200,000 new jobs by 2020, 135,000 of which are outside of Dublin. A key objective of each of the 8 regional plans, including the Border region, is to have a further 10 to 15 per cent at work in each region by 2020, with the unemployment rate of each region not more than one percentage point greater than the national average.

We are well on the way to meeting this target. Progress across the eight regions has been very positive since the launch of the initiative, with an increase in employment of 146,400 people in employment Q1 2015 to Q2 2018 in the regions outside of Dublin and 240,600 additional jobs nationwide.

4,400 more people are in employment in the Border region from Q1 2015 (baseline year) to Q2 2018 (please note that in the CSO’s revised regional groupings, Louth is no longer included in data for the Border region. Please see end of note for more details)*.

The Border has a Q2 2018 unemployment rate of 6.5% which currently meets the target of being within one percentage point of the national average (Q2 2018).

There is always room for improvement and I am working hard, across Government, to further unlock the economic potential of the North-East, including in Cavan. The Enterprise Agencies under my remit will continue to engage with their clients, and with one another, to create jobs and source new investment for this region.

The North-East/North-West Action Plan for Jobs has been a key policy response for supporting employment growth in the Border region, working with public and private stakeholders. In April of this year, I met with the Chairs of all the Regional Action Plan for Jobs committees and other regional stakeholders, to start a process to Refresh and Refocus all Regional Plans, to ensure their effectiveness, relevance and impact out to 2020, particularly in light of Brexit.

The North-East will have a stand-alone plan for this iteration, in which Cavan will form part of alongside Monaghan and Louth. This work is ongoing at present.

In December last year I announced an allocation of €30.5 million in funding to support enterprise capability in the regions, with 21 projects from all over the country receiving funding. This Regional Enterprise Development Fund (REDF) totalling €60 million is being rolled out by Enterprise Ireland over the next 4 years to support the development and implementation of collaborative and innovative projects that can sustain and add to employment at a national, regional and county level. The Fund supports the ambition, goals and implementation of the Regional Action Plans for Jobs.

Three projects from the Border region were successful under Call 1 of the Regional Enterprise Development Fund including a network of three Digital and Innovation Hubs with one hub each in Cavan, Leitrim and Longford.

In April of this year I launched a second competitive call under the REDF, which will make available the remainder of the €60 million. The results of this competitive process will be announced by the end of the year.

IDA Ireland continues to highlight the benefits of expanding or locating in all regions, including in Cavan. There are over 122,000 people employed across 649 firms in IDA client companies located outside of Dublin, with 45% of all new foreign direct investment (FDI) jobs created last year based in regional locations.

Last year, IDA client companies conducted two site visits to County Cavan and one site visit as of the second quarter of 2018. Site visit activity, however, does not necessarily reflect investment potential, as at least 70% of all new FDI comes from existing IDA client companies.

IDA Ireland is working hard to promote County Cavan to potential investors. The Agency has a dedicated regional manager for the North East/North West Region and has an office in the Cavan Innovation and Technology Centre. As part of its strategy to encourage investment to the area, it is focusing on sectors including agri-food, manufacturing, tourism and internationally traded services.

The IDA also regularly engages with key stakeholders on the ground in Cavan, including with local authorities, public bodies, the education sector and companies from both its own client base but also from the indigenous sector. IDA Ireland also owns sites in Cavan that are being actively marketed to its clients.

It is important to emphasise that FDI only forms one part of investment in regional locations. Indigenous enterprise is responsible for a significant portion of employment growth, especially outside Dublin. My Department and all its agencies, including Enterprise Ireland and the LEOs, work together constantly and collaboratively to ensure that jobs and investment are spread as fairly as possible across this country.

I am pleased to report that Enterprise Ireland (EI) supported companies employed 5,451 people in Cavan in 2017. This is an increase of 5% compared to 2016. Overall in the North-East, in 2017, 16,938 were employed in EI client companies.

The LEO in Cavan is the ‘first-stop-shop’ for advice and guidance, financial assistance and other supports for anyone intending to start or grow their own business in the area.

In 2017 there were 1,252 people employed in LEO client companies in Cavan. LEO client companies in the county created 207 new jobs with a net increase of 100 jobs. The LEO will continue to support and promote micro-enterprises throughout the county.

The LEOs can offer direct grant aid to microenterprises (10 employees or fewer) in the manufacturing and internationally traded services sectors which, over time, have the potential to develop into strong export entities. Subject to certain eligibility criteria, the LEOs can provide financial assistance within three main categories: Feasibility Grants; Priming Grants and Business Development Grants for existing businesses that want to expand. In addition, there is a Technical Assistance Grant available for eligible micro-exporter applicants who are seeking to explore alternative markets for their product or service.

For anyone interested in starting or growing a business, LEO Cavan may be able to offer ‘soft’ support in the form of training (e.g. a Start Your Own Business course); a mentor to work with the business proposer; or targeted programmes such as Lean for Micro (to help boost business productivity and competitiveness).

In addition to direct financial and soft supports, the LEOs provide a ‘signposting’ service in relation to all relevant State supports available through agencies such as Revenue, the Department of Social Protection, Education and Training Boards, the Credit Review Office and Microfinance Ireland. The LEOs can also offer advice and guidance in areas such as Local Authority rates, Public Procurement and other regulations affecting business.

*Due to regulation changes, the ‘NUTS3’ regional groupings (used by the CSO to compose regional employment data) have recently been updated. Under the new groupings, County Louth has moved from the Border to the Mid-East region. From Q1 2018, CSO Labour Force Survey data has been updated to take account of these changes.