Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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60. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment for an update on progress being made to acquire an IDA Ireland purpose-built facility in Longford town; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44195/23]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Balanced regional enterprise development continues to be a key policy of mine and this Government, and is reaffirmed in the Department’s White Paper on Enterprise.

My Department contributes to this agenda in several ways, including through the development, implementation and oversight of nine Regional Enterprise Plans.

The West Regional Enterprise Plan covers Galway, Mayo and Roscommon and was launched in Castlebar on 4 March last year.

Each Regional Enterprise Plan is overseen and monitored by a Steering Committee made up of regional stakeholders and chaired by a senior level private sector businessperson.

Minister Calleary attended the most recent meeting of the West REP Steering Committee on 20 June in the BIA Innovator Campus in Athenry and I believe good progress is being made in delivering on the strategic objectives of the Plan.

With regard to the BIA Innovator Campus, the Inaugural Irish Drink Summit, supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine was held there in September.

Furthermore, partnering with Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and Galway and Leitrim County Councils, BIA is also leading out on a Shared Island AgriFood Infrastructure Enabling Growth project. Recently BIA welcomed over 40 Shared Island delegates to the campus over two days for an immersion and co-creation event.

BIA is also the facilitator of the AgTech Centre for Innovation, a priority project within the West’s Regional Enterprise Plan, designed to build regional capacity to enable agri-innovators to become more productive, sustainable and enterprising. Funding for this project was granted under the Regional Enterprise Innovation Scoping Scheme.

My Department has secured up to €145 million in funding to assist in delivering on the objectives set out in the nine Regional Enterprise Plans and support projects aligned to those Plans. This funding builds on the €126 million my Department has already allocated in regional enterprise funding.

Earlier this week I announced the first call amounting to €35 million under the Smart Regions Enterprise Innovation Scheme (SREIS). The overall objective of this Scheme is to drive job creation and enterprise development; it provides an opportunity for regional stakeholders to unlock potential from the bottom up through collaboration and will have a major impact in all regions of the country.

The Scheme is now open for applications on Enterprise Ireland’s website and the first call will close on 31 March 2024. I expect that there will be up to four calls under this fund over the coming years. I look forward to seeing innovative enterprise focused projects coming from the West for this funding.

This funding will help support entrepreneurship, start-ups and scaling companies, primarily micro and SMEs, through the provision of appropriate infrastructure and support for key staff resources.

Finally, the Department is holding nine ‘Building Better Business’ conferences around the country throughout 2023. These focus on the opportunities and challenges of digital transformation and the transition to a low-carbon economy, as well as showcasing the government and agency supports available to small and medium enterprises. Regional Enterprise Plan Chairs also have the opportunity to address attendees about the progress being made in the implementation of their Plans.

The most recent conference was held on 22 September in Dundalk and focused on the North-East region. The next event will focus on the West region and takes place tomorrow in Ballina and I hope to see the Deputy there.

I believe the conferences demonstrate the firm commitment of this Government to balanced regional enterprise development for all regions of Ireland, including the West.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Performance has been strong in the first half of the IDA strategy 2021-2024 despite the difficult global economic environment. Total employment in IDA client companies reached 301,475 in 2022. Furthermore, 260 investments of the 400 targeted over the lifetime of the Strategy for regional locations have been won.

Employment in IDA client companies in the South-East region grew by 3% and regional employment now stands at 163,653 an increase of 7% on the previous year. There are 86 IDA client companies employing 15,520 people in the region, including significant employment in Carlow with IDA client companies employing approximately 1,500 people in the county. Moreover, the IDA’s Regional Property Programme has committed to delivering 19 Advanced Building Solutions in 15 regional locations over the lifetime of their current strategy and this includes the 'Advanced Building Solution' in Carlow which is completed and included as part of IDA marketing material for FDI and Enterprise Ireland clients alike.

Furthermore, the enterprise agencies work closely with existing clients to transform, enhance, protect and grow their existing operations and IDA is committed to assisting these companies to build and grow their operations in Carlow. On 12th September 2023, MSD Ireland, one of the country’s leading healthcare companies, announced the official opening of a new, state-of-the-art site in Meath in addition to a significant expansion at its Carlow site. The projects represent a recent investment of over €1billion across both facilities.

MSD Carlow serves as a filling site for the launch and commercial supply of vaccines, biologics, and small molecule drug products. Established in 2008, this state-of-the-art facility was MSD's first vaccines operation outside of the United States and has seen significant growth, expansion, and investment since first opening its doors. The new expansion will strengthen MSD’s global manufacturing capabilities to meet increased demand for MSD’s medicines and vaccines.

Enterprise Ireland has approximately 68 client companies in County Carlow, employing 3,815 people across a broad number of sectors. In 2022, the South-East Region, including Carlow, witnessed positive developments in terms of support for new businesses and job creation. Enterprise Ireland played a significant role in this endeavour, with, for example, six start-ups from the South-East Region securing High Potential Start-Up investments totalling over €1million from Enterprise Ireland.

Irish micro mobility start-up ZEUS Scooters has raised €5m for expansion and development of its innovative solutions for markets globally. This Carlow company was Established in 2019 and launched in Germany in 2020, ZEUS has expanded into six countries across two continents and over 40 locations, making it Ireland’s largest micro mobility company. The new investment comprises €2m through Irish Based BVP investments, €350k from Enterprise Ireland, €1.65m of angel investment and €1m in debt.

I can assure the Deputy that both Agencies are strongly focussed on attracting and retaining employment opportunities for Carlow and the South-East Region.