There are a substantial range of measures and projects in the Balbriggan area or accessible to its residents being provided by the agencies for which I have responsibility. These are all geared towards increasing both employment opportunities and the skills of unemployed persons in the area.
IDA Ireland's client companies have delivered 5,793 jobs in Fingal in 1996 making it one of the fastest growing areas in Ireland for IDA job creation in recent years. With the completion of the northern cross route of the M50, all the main IDA business parks are within a ten to 15 minute commute of each other, making the major job creators readily accessible to residents of Balbriggan.
IDA Ireland has a four acre serviced site available at the IDA Business Park in Balbriggan, and combined with the adjacent new IDA secured investments in Swords, the Balbriggan catchment area will continue to experience substantial net jobs growth from IDA clients.
Fingal County Enterprise Board (CEB) has been working with IDA Ireland and the Development Department of Fingal County Council to attract a project to the Stephenstown Lands, Balbriggan. Arising from this, a site has been identified in the town for an enterprise centre, the preparatory work for which is now under way. To develop this facility Fingal CEB in conjunction with FÁS has employed an enterprise worker under the auspices of the Balbriggan enterprise group, who is currently based in Balbriggan.