Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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14. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the efforts he is making to increase employment opportunities in County Meath, given the very significant number of workers who are forced to leave the county every day for work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32741/25]

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is committed to supporting businesses to start-up, grow and create sustainable employment in towns and villages across the country.

The Local Enterprise Office (LEO) in County Meath provides enterprise and entrepreneurship support services, business information and advisory services, and contributes to the Local Enterprise Development Services in County Meath.

In 2024, LEO Meath has assisted 259 Meath based small businesses, supporting 1,455 jobs and creating 74 new jobs through the provision of €406,619 in direct grant assistance. Many more jobs are supported through other LEO supports including mentoring, targeted training, exporting, decarbonisation and digital transformation.

Balanced regional development is a Government priority and Meath, along with the counties of Kildare and Wicklow comprise the Mid East Regional Enterprise Plan. This Plan was developed and led by regional stakeholders, focuses on collaborative initiatives to strengthen the enterprise ecosystem in the region.

Enterprise Ireland remains firmly committed to driving balanced regional development as a cornerstone of its strategy. Under their new strategy, Enterprise Ireland aims to grow employment in client companies to 275,000, with a strong emphasis on regional job creation and scaling indigenous businesses across all counties

The total number of people employed in Enterprise Ireland client companies in Meath totalled 9,034 in 2024 – a net increase of 672 people, which is 8% growth.

There has been a 54% increase in employment in FDI clients in County Meath over the period of IDA’s last strategy, resulting from a strong investment performance including expansions and in Research Development & Innovation investments.

IDA has Business and Technology Parks with available lands in Navan (65 acres) and Drogheda (8 acres) and the strong FDI performance in the county will be leveraged as IDA continues to market Meath as a location for further FDI investment utilising its global network of overseas offices.