Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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35. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will provide an update on IDA activities in County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53897/22]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The IDA Ireland has frequent engagement with client companies and stakeholders in County Mayo, with regular interaction, including in person when beneficial. IDA Ireland continues to market Mayo as part of the West Region for investment from both the existing base of client companies and potential new name investments.

In 2021 the West Region was home to 120 IDA supported companies, employing 29,419 people in total, that is up 6% on the previous year. 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. These results 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. IDA Ireland will target 76 investments for the West Region over the period of this strategy.

There are currently 16 IDA supported companies in Mayo employing 5,145 directly. The FDI performance in the Region has been strong over the past five years with employment among IDA clients increasing by 32%. There is a significant ecosystem of well-established Life Sciences companies, which has helped drive strong cluster development. The number of people employed in software engineering, technical support, global business services and R&D in the Region has also grown considerably in recent years. The city of Galway is a crucial part of the West’s attractiveness to FDI.

IDA’s property investment programme for the West Region included the construction of Advance Building Solutions (ABS) in Castlebar, Co. Mayo and in Galway. An Advance Office Building (AOB) of c.45,000sqft was completed in 2018 in Parkmore, Galway, which was delivered through a PPP model. The ABS in Parkmore, Galway is now completed and is currently being marketed. The ABS in Castlebar was acquired by Meissner Filtration, a California headquartered company, who announced the creation of 150 jobs in 2019.

As the Deputy is aware, under their new property programme over 2021-2024, IDA will deliver an additional Advance Building Solution in Castlebar and continue to engage with Mayo County Council to progress a partnership to develop additional business park and strategic lands for future development. The Agency will also work in partnership with Mayo County Council to develop access infrastructure to lands in Ballina.

IDA Ireland continues to market Mayo and the West through its overseas offices to target mobile FDI opportunities and will arrange corresponding site visits as required. IDA positions the West Region as home to the leading cluster of Life Sciences industries and a growing technology cluster, and will be targeting Lifesciences, Medical Devices, Financial Services and Technology sectors for investment opportunities in RD&I, advanced manufacturing, global business services and technology development.

The IDA is also represented on the West Regional Skills Forum, the aim of the Forum is to support and facilitate communication and engagement between enterprise and third level education providers in the identification, development and delivery of skills required for Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. The West Regional Skills Forum is a collaborative forum comprised of representatives from education and training provider groups namely National University Ireland Galway (NUI Galway), Atlantic Technological University Galway (ATU Galway), Galway Roscommon Education & Training Board (GRETB) , Mayo Education & Training Board (MSLETB), Skillnets, and Intreo working in partnership with industry representative groups and state agencies IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, IBEC, Western Development Commission, Údarás na Gaeltachta, Fáilte Ireland, Local Enterprise Offices, Construction Industry Federation, Teagasc, Chambers of Commerce, American Chamber. The Forum is industry led with representation across multiple industry sectors in four working groups at present - Industry 4.0 (with a focus on Life Sciences), Sales Professionals Network, Technology and Wood & Furniture Manufacturing.