Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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153. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of Enterprise Ireland funding totalling €1,759,226 allocated to Clare County Council in 2018 for the development of the Clare Maritime Economic Zone project for Cahercon, Kildysert; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2726/22]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Regional enterprise development and sustainable job creation is a key policy priority of mine and the Government and is a core element of the National Development Plan.

My Department plays a very strong part in implementing that policy goal through a variety of policy initiatives and investments in the regions.

Through the Regional Enterprise Development Fund, the Border Enterprise Development Fund and the Regional Enterprise Transition Scheme, my Department through Enterprise Ireland, has approved over €126m in funding for 79 regionally impactful projects for the benefit of enterprises/industry sectors across the regions.   

Clare County Council were approved funding of €1,759,226 under Call 2 of the Regional Enterprise Development Fund in 2018 to support the development of a Maritime Enterprise Zone. The proposed project was initially on an identified site in Cahercon, Kildysert, Co. Clare.

I have been advised by Enterprise Ireland that subsequent to the grant approval and detailed examination of this site by the promoters, it was established that the renovation costs necessary to develop the planned facilities would be multiples of the originally forecasted costs. These increased costs meant the project was no longer viable as envisaged in Cahercon. As a result the promoters sought alternative options for the delivery of this project.

I can advise the Deputy that the promoters have currently identified a site in Kilrush to locate the planned training activities, while the marine research facility option will primarily remain in Cahercon, which has a jetty on the site. The promoters have plans to deliver this solution in 2022 and are putting in place a strategy to secure the additional funding necessary to underpin the project, with potential additional funding provided by Clare County Council and a possible further application to be made to the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund.

Enterprise Ireland have advised that they are continuing to work with the promoters to ensure the delivery of this project.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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154. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of IDA jobs created in 2020 and 2021 for each local authority area in tabular form. [2732/22]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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IDA Ireland reported a record-breaking year for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) employment in 2021, with total employment in IDA client companies now standing at 275,384, up from 258,558 last year. Growth in the regions was particularly buoyant with 53% - 133 projects of the 249 investments won going to regional locations and employment growth recorded in every region of the country.

Job losses remained at a relatively modest level relative to the size of the overall portfolio resulting in an extremely strong net employment growth, with a 16,826 net increase.

The strong growth in regional investment was supported by IDA Ireland’s property programme. A robust property and infrastructure ecosystem can be the key differentiator in winning FDI projects, as evidenced by the record regional results achieved under IDA’s Winning 2015-2019 strategy.

The 2021 figures show a pattern of sustained, robust growth in FDI investment and FDI-related employment over a continuous period of more than ten-years. The results in 2021 represent a strong start to IDA’s new 2021-2024 strategy, Driving Recovery and Sustainable Growth, which seeks to further enhance FDI’s place at the centre of a resilient, sustainable, and inclusive Irish economy.

The number of IDA jobs created in 2020 and 2021 for each Local Authority area is not available, however the number of jobs created by County is shown in the table below:

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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155. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of Enterprise Ireland supported jobs created in 2020 and 2021 for each local authority area in tabular form. [2733/22]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Enterprise Ireland (EI) does not record data by local authority area. However, jobs data is recorded on a county basis.

The table below illustrates the jobs created by EI supported clients in each of the years 2020 and 2021, by county.

Table: Jobs created in Enterprise Ireland clients 2020 and 2021 by County

*Data reflects employment in clients following a review and revision of the Enterprise Ireland client base in 2021.