Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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22. To ask the Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment the level of new investment arising from Enterprise Ireland grant aided enterprises in counties Meath and Westmeath, respectively, in each of the years 2015 to 2019 and to date in 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25957/20]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Supporting balanced regional development is a core objective of Government.  In pursuit of this policy objective, Enterprise Ireland is working with manufacturing and internationally traded services companies in Meath and Westmeath to build scale, innovate and expand reach - key attributes required to be resilient to economic shocks.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, as part of the agency’s overall engagement with client companies, the agency is working intensively with companies to support them stabilise their business, thereby enabling them to undertake a development programme focused on recovery and growth. In addition, the agency is actively working with client companies to ensure they are prepared for a no deal Brexit.

In 2019 Enterprise Ireland client companies reported a record high of 221,895 people in employment. Sixty-Five per cent of this employment is located outside of Dublin. In 2019, 7,687 people were employed in the 165 Enterprise Ireland supported firms in Meath. In the same year, 3,382 people were employed in the 99 Enterprise Ireland supported firms in Westmeath.

The following table details new funding approvals to clients in Meath and Westmeath for the period 2015 to the 6th of October 2020.