Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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143. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the measures his Department will implement to address the potential conflict of interest arising from SOLAS acting in dual roles as both a regulator and competitor in the field of safety training. [39716/24]

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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SOLAS is the state agency responsible for Further Education and Training in Ireland. SOLAS manages a range of Further Education and Training programmes including Apprenticeships, Traineeships, Skills to Advance, eCollege and the European Globalisation Fund. SOLAS also manages the Safe Pass Health and Safety Awareness Training Programme, the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) and the Quarrying Skills Certification Scheme (QSCS).

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) is the national body in Ireland with responsibility for occupational health and safety. The HSA reports to the Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail under delegated authority from the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

Having consulted with the HSA on this matter, the HSA is of the opinion that there is no conflict of interest as SOLAS is not a statutory regulator.

As SOLAS is an agency of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, any issues, including potential conflicts of interest in carrying out their duties, would be a matter for them to consider.

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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144. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of site visits that were taken by IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland clients to each of the local electoral areas (LEAs) in Wicklow; the number of jobs that were created by IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland in each of the LEAs in the counties; the value of the investments made by IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland client companies in each of the LEAs in the counties in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39739/24]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Regional development is a key element of Government's enterprise policy, as set out in the White Paper on Enterprise, and is a key focus of the work of my Department and our Agencies. The availability of property and infrastructure solutions is a key factor in investment decisions and a robust property and infrastructure ecosystem can be the key differentiator in winning Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects.

IDA Ireland’s Regional Property Programme is aimed at supporting economic development and job creation across the country by providing property solutions for its own as well as Enterprise Ireland and LEO clients and IDA Ireland facilitates both virtual and in-person sites visits for companies.

Data on the number of site visits is only provided on a county level and figures from 2019 to 2023 for site visits to County Wicklow are set in the table that follows. While there were no site visits to Wicklow in Q1 this year Q2 figures are currently being collated and verified by the IDA and will be available next month. In interpreting the figures, potential clients may visit more than one county and may return to a location more than once and the figures being provided represent individual visits and are, therefore, not indicative of the number of companies that have visited.

The number of Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland client companies and the numbers employed from 2019-2023 are shown in the table below:

* In line with Enterprise Ireland’s 2022-2024 strategy, a revision of the population of companies included in the Annual Employment Survey was undertaken to take account of companies that had been acquired or those whose strategy or need to engage with Enterprise Ireland had changed. As a result, changes to the baseline survey population impacted Enterprise Ireland client company numbers and total employment from 2021.

Grant Payments to both IDA and EI clients in County Wicklow over the last 5 years are shown below:

Additionally, the Arklow Business Enterprise Centre, and Clermont Enterprise Hub, both infrastructural clients of Enterprise Ireland in County Wicklow, have received payments of €1.8 million over the period 2019 to 2023.

I should note that grants paid in a particular year are not necessarily linked to either the investments won, or the jobs created in that 12-month period. Grants are generally drawn down over the lifetime of a project which is typically over a period of three to five years. Equally, some investments which result in job creation may not be grant aided and some well-established firms may no longer be receiving grant payments.