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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 23 Mar 2017

Vol. 944 No. 1

Other Questions

IDA Ireland Site Visits

Niall Collins

Question:

6. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the detail of regional IDA Ireland site visits and vacant properties in 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14452/17]

As the Minister will be aware, I have submitted this question on every relevant occasion because we are concerned about the lack of IDA Ireland site visits to many parts of Ireland, in particular, Roscommon - Deputy Eugene Murphy is here beside me. Other such places include Kerry and, as Deputy Mattie McGrath mentioned, Tipperary. Can the Minister address in her answer the uneven spread and imbalance of IDA Ireland site visits across the country through 2016?

Regional development is a key priority for me and I am determined to help drive job creation all over Ireland. Increasing and sustaining foreign direct investment outside of our main urban areas represents a vital part of this.

IDA Ireland's strategy for 2015-19 includes a commitment to increase foreign direct investment in every region outside Dublin by 30%-40%. The 2016 results show that IDA Ireland is actively working towards this goal, with 52% of all jobs created by the agency's clients last year based outside of Dublin. Site visit statistics also indicate that progress is being made towards this objective. In 2016 there were 638 IDA-sponsored site visits nationwide, up from 565 in 2015. Locations outside Dublin accounted for 55% of these visits. It should be remembered that site visits do not necessarily accurately project future investment, as most investment comes from an expansion of existing company activity.

To attract more FDI to the regions, IDA Ireland must maintain an adequate supply of marketable serviced land and buildings that can be offered to potential investors. There are currently 23 vacant IDA-owned properties which are available for investment and I can provide details on these to the Deputy directly.

I emphasise that IDA Ireland is actively encouraging clients to locate in regional locations. The final decision, however, always lies with the company concerned and can be influenced by many different factors including access to talent, proximity to transport hubs and the suitability of local infrastructure.

Has Deputy Eugene Murphy a supplementary on this?

I will make a brief comment. I thank Deputy Niall Collins for bringing it up and sharing time. In her reply, the Minister repeatedly states "outside of Dublin".

It is because the Deputy is saying its all going to Dublin.

I am asking where are the Minister's agencies in Roscommon, east Galway, Leitrim and Longford? It is not happening in those areas. I acknowledge the programme for Government states the Government would create 155,000 jobs outside of Dublin but our region is being destroyed because we do not have jobs. If one looks at towns such as Ballaghaderreen, Castlerea, Strokestown, Cortober in Carrick-on-Shannon and Roscommon town, there are units ready to be used. I believe the Government is not engaging.

IDA Ireland had one or two visits to Roscommon.

One. In Cavan, which is in Deputy Niamh Smyth's constituency, the number was low also. IDA Ireland is not engaging with certain counties and I want the Minister to change that. If the Government does not do so then we are not getting a fair crack of the whip.

I know where Deputy Eugene Murphy's concern is coming from but if he thinks about it, the chief executive and the board of the companies involved decide where they want to go. IDA Ireland encourages them. I myself have encouraged companies that I have met to go to regional towns not too far from many of the towns Deputy Murphy mentioned.

The LEOs in Roscommon supported the creation of 704 jobs last year, EI supported 1,688 and IDA Ireland 985. I would love to be here saying to the Deputy it was 9,995 but the reality is the chief executive and directors of the board - many of whom are in the US because 130,000 of the 150,000 FDI jobs in the country come from the US - make those decisions in the US with IDA Ireland. As I say, I have been at some of those meetings and I have heard IDA Ireland push - I myself have pushed - to try and land those jobs in regional areas but there are reasons why they do not.

I thank the Minister.

In my answer, I mentioned these reasons and they include transport hubs, talent and local infrastructure.

The Minister's time is up.

Everybody understands how the corporate world works in terms of decision-making. Companies make the decisions that are best suited to them but it is a fact, and despite everything the Minister says there is no disputing it, that IDA Ireland is failing the regions of the country outside of the greater Dublin area in terms of site visits.

In 2016, there was one site visit to Roscommon in 2016 there were three site visits to Kerry. That is unacceptable. The responsibility falls back on the Minister to impress upon IDA Ireland that it must engage in itineraries outside the greater Dublin area in so far as possible. The figures show that 45% of site visits were in the greater Dublin area, which was the figure the Minister gave, but if one looks at the GDP statistic provided recently by the CSO, 45% of the Irish GDP is generated in the greater Dublin area whereas in the UK, 20% of GDP is generated in the London area. We have an imbalance and IDA Ireland needs to work harder to address it. Is the Minister going to do something different to bring some initiative or give some direction to IDA Ireland to change the trend which is towards the greater Dublin area and the east coast? We cannot allow a situation to persist in which Roscommon, Kerry, Cavan and other counties fail to receive due consideration from IDA Ireland. Can the Minister redouble her efforts and implement an initiative to address that?

I work very hard to ensure that this will happen, not just with IDA Ireland but with Enterprise Ireland, our LEOs and InterTradeIreland. Despite what Deputy Niall Collins said, I am still coming back with hard figures to him. In 2016, 52% of all jobs created were outside Dublin as were 55% of all site visits. At the same time, we have to be realistic. There is a global trend to base foreign direct investment around large urban areas where there is access to transport networks. Quite often, companies want to be located near competitors or clusters of similar enterprises. As a result, it is unavoidable that some businesses are only interested in investing in our larger cities. Deputy Niall Collins did not mention Limerick, which is outside Dublin. There were 49 site visits to Limerick, ten to Kilkenny, 42 to Galway, 49 to Cork, 18 to Clare, 20 to Sligo, 17 to Waterford and 36 to Westmeath. As such, site visits are taking place.

I am well aware of that. As spokesperson, my role extends to the whole of Ireland, as does the role of the Minister.

Please, Deputy Collins.

I have just told Deputy Niall Collins that there were 638 sites visits altogether and I called out a number of counties, not just Limerick, albeit I pointed out that Limerick had been successful, as had Galway, Louth and Sligo.

The time is up.

That is if one is counting site visits as successes, which I do not. I see the landing of jobs in those areas as the success.

Question No. 7 replied to with Written Answers.

Brexit Issues

James Lawless

Question:

8. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the estimated challenges and opportunities posed by the Brexit result, in particular regarding the opportunities that are available for third level institutions in the context of PRTLI. [9927/17]

My question is on two matters, in a sense. Brexit poses opportunities for Ireland, in particular in regard to research activities. In parallel, the PRTLI has been hit in recent years by funding cuts. Can we align those two goals to maximise our advantage post-Brexit to attract high-level research activity?

While the full extent of any impact of Brexit on research in Ireland will only become evident as the Brexit situation unfolds, Science Foundation Ireland, an agency of my Department, is actively working on measures we can take to maximise the opportunities as well as mitigate the risks. We are taking a positive and proactive approach to supporting our research and innovation sector in light of Brexit. Science Foundation Ireland is currently developing a number of proposals in this area. Science Foundation Ireland will continue to build on its existing research collaborations with the UK and Northern Ireland and will be encouraging Irish researchers to diversify their partnerships with other EU countries. In addition, Science Foundation Ireland is developing proposals to collaborate with top UK universities to attract both leading researchers and PhD students to Ireland through joint programmes with Irish universities.

The PRTLI, which has been funded by my Department since 2010, has provided rounds of investment in research infrastructure since 1998. The funding allocation for 2017 is €14.4 million. In 2016, the funding allocation was €30.4 million, including a Supplementary Estimate in December of €20 million. In total, sustained investment since 1998 amounting to some €1.2 billion of public and private funding in our higher education institutions has built research capacity in the Irish higher education system. This enables our researchers to successfully compete in funding opportunities such as Horizon 2020.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

The planning and design of a successor to cycle 5 of PRTLI is an action in Innovation 2020 and is being progressed by my Department working closely with the Department of Education and Skills. My Department is seeking funding to commence a successor to cycle 5 of the PRTLI as part of its submission to the mid-term review of the capital plan. There will be more clarity on a successor to cycle 5, including time lines when this review is concluded and the funding envelope for this and other projects is finalised. The programme design is in the early stages until funding is secured. A new cycle of the PRTLI would increase the capability and capacity of the Irish research system which will support it to avail of any opportunities that may arise as the Brexit situation develops.

I put down the question in the context of PRTLI. I am aware of the good work Science Foundation Ireland does and have met the chief executive, Mr. Mark Ferguson, recently and complimented on the fantastic work he does. I am aware of his ambitious plans to link with top universities in the UK to allow them to benefit from ERC type grants. However, PRTLI is not a Science Foundation fund; it is a separate fund for a separate purpose and covers different institutions. The Minister said the budget for 2017 is €14.4 million and was €30.4 million in 2016. The 2017 budget of €14.4 million is derisory for a fund that started off in the hundreds of millions. That is where it was targeted and that is where it was. Science Foundation Ireland is a great institution, but it is no substitute for PRTLI. I hope we will see a vastly increased budget on €14.4 million in the announcement shortly of cycle 5 of PRTLI. If we are serious about attracting top talent across all the disciplines and universities, including the humanities, we must get serious about PRTLI and third level funding. Science Foundation Ireland does great work, but it is not a substitute for everything else.

The PRTLI programme has been allocated €14.4 million. While this figure is small relative to recent years, the historic liabilities in cycle 5 are close to being paid down in full. We are at an early stage in terms of the design of the successor to PRTLI cycle 5. As such, it has yet to be decided whether there will be any specific Brexit-related component to the programme. However, a new programme will increase the capacity of the research system and that is something that is required in any scenario associated with Brexit. The Department has sought funding for Innovation 2020 in the mid-term review of the capital plan. This includes a proposal to commence the successor to cycle 5 of PRTLI, which is the key action in Innovation 2020. If we have agreement in principle to the launch of the new cycle of PRTLI, we can make a start in 2018.

I thank Deputy Lawless for letting me in on this question. I am very passionate about research and development and the opportunities there could be for Ireland.

I am particularly passionate about the Border region and Cavan and Monaghan. It is wonderful to have Cavan Institute and Monaghan Institute but we do not have universities or the infrastructure. Anything the Minister can do to bring research or development to the Border counties would be welcome, and a special case has to be made for the Border region in particular because it will be at the coal face of the outcome and implications of Brexit. We have Cavan Institute and Monaghan Institute run by the education and training boards, which have been hugely influential in keeping a young population and preventing a complete brain drain from the Border region and this needs to be worked on and thought very much about in the negotiations.

I hear exactly what the Deputy is saying. Without doubt, the programme for research in third level institutions, PRTLI, has been an important part of the research funding and it has provided dedicated large-scale research funding for colleges to implement their research strategies and fund the people, equipment and buildings to go with them. The PRTLI has involved €1.2 billion of public and private investment since 1998 in physical research facilities and support for human capital for research. I hear exactly what the Deputy is talking about for the Border. The overarching vision for the PRTLI was to propel Ireland towards establishing an international profile as a premier location for carrying out world-class research and development.

Economic Competitiveness

Niall Collins

Question:

9. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the steps being taken to reverse the continual fall in Irish business competitiveness levels and Ireland's attractiveness as a location for businesses, particularly Ireland's competitiveness standing with the UK; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14451/17]

In her reply, will the Minister address the concerns we have expressed previously, and which I will express again, on Irish competitiveness with regard to the UK, and the competitiveness gap which exists and which seems to be widening? This is particularly concerning in the context and backdrop of Brexit.

In 2016, Ireland moved from 16th to seventh in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, and from 24th to 23rd in the 2016 World Economic Forum, WEF, Global Competitiveness Report. The World Bank's Ease of Doing Business report shows Ireland is ranked 18th, ahead of the UK in terms of ease of starting a business and paying tax but behind in the overall rankings.

Ireland's improved competitiveness performance has been central to employment growth. Brexit means we must do more to enhance our attractiveness as a location to start and locate a business. The 2017 Action Plan for Jobs sets a target to achieve a top five global competitiveness ranking based on the IMD measure by 2020. The plan sets out a range of actions to further enhance competitiveness and help achieve this objective.

The National Competitiveness Council has also undertaken a benchmarking exercise comparing Irish and UK competitiveness performance. To improve competitiveness, we must consolidate Ireland's traditional strengths, such as talent, productivity and export competitiveness, and address areas such as infrastructure where we lag behind other countries.

As Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, my focus is on ensuring Ireland is a competitive location internationally to establish and run a business. We are stepping up investment in infrastructure. We are driving the implementation of our research strategy, Innovation 2020. We are putting more people on the ground in foreign markets to attract investment and help Irish businesses which export to the UK and help others diversify into new markets.

I have mentioned this to the Minister on a number of occasions and, unfortunately, I hate to have to report that we have not seen any progress on the closing of the competitiveness gap which exists. The Minister quoted the world rankings to me, but she will know we dropped to 18th place out of 189 economies in the Ease of Doing Business report. We have now fallen behind Georgia, Latvia, Estonia and Macedonia in the global rankings. This is a very telling statistic to compare how we are doing vis-à-vis other jurisdictions in terms of competitiveness. It is extremely worrying, bearing in mind the Taoiseach committed to making us the best small country in the world in which to do business. I want to ask the Minister about the capital gains tax, CGT, relief which applies to entrepreneurial gains, and I have raised this issue with her previously. As she knows, the 10% rate of CGT applies to entrepreneurs up to a limit of £10 million in the UK. We have a very unfavourable regime in this country. Young entrepreneurs will go to the UK and seek to generate enterprise and business there because they are not getting the same break here. Can we please look at our corporation tax rate, in particular for entrepreneurial start-ups?

In budget 2017, the Government reduced capital gains tax to help entrepreneurs, bringing this relief more in line with that in operation in the UK. We are providing a lower 10% level of capital gains tax for entrepreneurs on disposals of qualifying assets up to a lifetime limit of €1 million. Capital gains tax entrepreneurial relief introduced in 2017 provides for a reduced CGT rate of 10% for entrepreneurs. The reform of CGT is a work in progress and I have secured the competitive 10% CGT rate. The relief will be kept under consideration and, depending on its operation and the resources available, can be revisited in the context of future budgets. My objective is to deliver 10% on lifetime gains of up to €10 million. I will continue to advocate for further enhancements to the threshold.

The Deputy gave a list of competitiveness factors. I have other numbers and I am very willing to share them with the Deputy. They are on the public record with regard to the World Bank ranking, the World Economic Forum and the IMD ranking. The Deputy mentioned the goods market efficiency in Ireland, where we are rated fifth and the UK is ninth. There are numbers and statistics. My target for the IMD report for next year in the Action Plan for Jobs is to go from seventh to fifth.

The Minister's answer is fine and I am sure it is correct, but the goalposts have changed. The CSO figures for 2016, and I questioned the Taoiseach on this during Leaders' Questions two weeks ago, show a drop in the value of exports of almost €500 million, that is, €480 million, for 2016. Most of this drop occurred between June and the end of the year, after the Brexit vote. Even more seriously for people such as Deputy Smyth and me in particular, small food businesses are being affected because almost all of the loss is in the food and drink sector and the Minister must take this on board.

I am aware of the €480 million drop in the value of exports and not in the amount of exports.

Yes, the value.

I am absolutely conscious of the problem and the issues in the agrisector and with regard to agrifood. I assure the Deputy I have been in touch with Bord Bia. I work very closely with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine to make sure our agribusinesses can compete. Enterprise Ireland and the local enterprise offices are on the same page. We are working towards it and we will be doing our very best. I have put in €3 million in extra staff. I have also given more money to the LEOs in the budget and ensured an extra €50 million was added to the €500 million from 2016.

It is now 2017 and the budget allocation was €550 million. I will make sure to make that case for our businesses and our companies. Enterprise Ireland will work very closely with me, as will InterTradeIreland.

Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement

Maureen O'Sullivan

Question:

10. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her views on the lack of a democratic process surrounding the pending EU ratification on the CETA trade deal; the implications of the investor-state dispute mechanism for Ireland; her further views on the need to wait for the EU Court of Justice on the legality of the investment court system, ICS, before ratification by the Houses of the Oireachtas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14423/17]

The question relates to CETA and the lack of a democratic process surrounding the pending EU ratification of the trade deal. It also relates to the implications of the investor court system and the need to wait for the European Court of Justice ruling on the legality of the ICS before ratification here or elsewhere.

On 15 January 2017, the European Parliament voted in favour of the provisional application of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, better known as CETA. This is part of the democratic process as set out in the treaties for the approval of international trade agreements. Provisional application is a standard part of a trade agreement and allows those parts of the agreement for which the EU has competence to come into force. The provisions relating to investment protection and investment dispute settlement were excluded from the provisional application.

Ratification can now commence in member states according to their constitutional requirements. This is also part of the democratic process for ratification of the trade deal. The Dáil will be part of the final decision to ratify the agreement in our case. It is important to wait to see the benefits of the agreement come into being before it is put before the Dáil for ratification. Then we can have a fully informed debate based on facts and evidence. Ratification by the Dáil will not be sought in advance of any relevant proceedings at the European Court of Justice.

I support the provisional application of CETA so that firms may immediately benefit from the new business opportunities. My Department is already working with our agencies and business groups to ensure that firms can take advantage of the terms of this agreement. I will be leading a trade mission to Canada in the first half of this year to promote the opportunities provided by the agreement.

I am not coming at this with an anti-trade agenda but with an agenda that there should be a right to trade without any recourse to these investor court systems. I take from what the Minister said that the investor court system seems to be gone completely. I ask her to clarify that because of concerns among members of parliament in many countries, MEPs, trade unions, NGOs and civil society about that particular system. It is considered an affront to democracy. The German judges expressed concerns that it did not even meet the minimum standards required for a judicial system in a democratic country, and the European association of judges took the same line.

The concerns of the NGOs and trade unions were that it was going to allow foreign companies to sue governments and so bypass legal jurisdiction. I take hope from what the Minister has said. It was allowing companies to sue governments on future imagined profits as it stood. The Ecuadorian Government chose not to renew a licence for an oil exploration company. The company took the country to court. The court found against the Ecuadorian Government and awarded the company €2.36 billion based on the profit that would have been made. I ask the Minister to clarify the investor aspect of it. There have been calls for a new chapter on that system. Where is that now?

I have a quick comment on this. The Minister might be able to clarify this today but she can get back to me if not. Fianna Fáil is clear on where it stands on CETA. We support it and think the upside to the trade deal will be very beneficial to our country in the main.

People and groups are voicing concern and opposition to CETA and to aspects of the agreement. We had a briefing at the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation by some officials from the Minister's Department. I asked them to detail and outline, following the consultation exercise that they undertook with stakeholder groups, the level of opposition and concern that was expressed. The response from the Minister's officials was that it was minimal. If I am not incorrect, they said that no opposition was expressed to them. I have subsequently met with other groups which are expressing opposition, including farming representative groups and those types of organisation. I ask the Minister to double-check with her Department on the level of consultation that it has undertaken with various stakeholder groups and to gauge exactly what I just outlined there.

I have seen letters in agreement with CETA and I have also seen other letters. I will double-check and get Deputy Collins the exact details. I hear exactly what the Deputy is saying. Substantive engagement took place, sector by sector, to identify Ireland's interests over the course of the negotiations. We looked at the elimination of virtually all tariffs between Ireland and Canada. We looked at the creation of new opportunities for farmers and agrifoods. As the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, I have to make sure that jobs are created throughout Ireland. Over 70% of our exports and half of our domestic economic activity is generated by foreign direct investment. We are trying to make sure that we seize the opportunities. I assure Deputy Collins that there will be a vote in Dáil Éireann. We want to see what benefits will accrue so that we can make an informed decision. I am looking forward to engaging with companies in Canada and Enterprise Ireland will be with me to ensure that we can grow companies. IDA Ireland will also be there to make sure that there is more investment into Ireland. We will then be able to come back and make a better-informed decision on what happens, and then we can vote in Dáil Éireann.

I would also like to make a point about the Seanad's rejection of CETA, which is very significant. There are still concerns about the implications for jobs, particularly in small and medium enterprises, and about agriculture, particularly milk and beef prices. There is a danger of us being flooded by genetically modified foods. The people of Wallonia, who are very dependent on dairy and beef products, like us, have voted against this agreement five times. They wanted the Belgian Government to bring this to the European Court of Justice to see if this is legal under European law, as is their right under Article 218. There are concerns that, while there are chapters on labour and sustainable development, there is nothing on violation of those particular standards. The other concern is about future privatisation of public services and that CETA could open a floodgate for that to happen. I ask the Minister to clarify if we are going to wait for the European Court of Justice ruling before the vote is taken here.

The majority of the provisions of CETA will be provisionally applied. Chapter 8 on investment shall only be provisionally applied in so far as it relates to foreign direct investment. Chapter 13 is about financial services and it shall not be provisionally applied in so far as it applies to the portfolio investment, protection of investment or investment dispute settlement. That was one of the major issues. The article on camcording in chapter 20 on intellectual property will not be provisionally applied. The articles on administrative proceedings, review and appeal in chapter 27, on transparency, shall not be provisionally applied. The article on investor protection in chapter 28 on exemptions will not be provisionally applied. That was a major issue. The provisional application of chapter 22 on trade and sustainable development, chapter 23 on trade and labour and chapter 24 on trade and the environment shall respect the allocation of competences between the Union and the member states.

IDA Ireland Site Visits

Tony McLoughlin

Question:

11. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of IDA Ireland visits in counties Sligo and Leitrim in 2016 and to date in 2017; the efforts under way to attract tenants to the new advanced IDA Ireland facility in Finisklin, Sligo; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14417/17]

I wish to ask the Minister about the number of IDA Ireland visits in counties Sligo and Leitrim in 2016 and to date in 2017. What efforts are currently under way to attract tenants to the new advanced IDA Ireland facility in Finisklin, Sligo? The Minister visited the new state-of-the-art facility at Finisklin recently. However, there are many vacant premises in the industrial estate at Finisklin and elsewhere. I have been inundated with requests about this matter.

The Deputy has only 30 seconds to introduce his question, but I will let him back in after the Minister's reply.

IDA Ireland maintains statistics in relation to site visits by potential investors on a quarterly basis. During 2016 there was a total of 20 IDA Ireland-sponsored site visits by potential investors to County Sligo. This was up from seven in 2014 representing a 185% increase. There were eight site visits to County Leitrim in 2016, up from two in 2014 representing a 300% increase. It is expected that data on site visits for quarter 1, 2017 will be available early next month. It should of course be remembered that site visits do not necessarily accurately project future investment, as most investment comes from an expansion of existing company activity.

The significant increase in site visits to Sligo and Leitrim only reflects part of the agency's ongoing efforts to attract foreign direct investment to the north-west region. IDA Ireland has also made a considerable investment in a new 31,000 sq. ft. advance technology building located in Finisklin Business Park, Sligo. This facility is due for completion at the end of April 2017. I am informed by the agency that this building is already being actively marketed to all potential investors.

Sligo and Leitrim at end-2016 had 27 companies and 2,703 jobs supported by IDA Ireland.

I thank the Minister for her reply. She mentioned that in 2016 the north west had 20 IDA Ireland-sponsored site visits to County Sligo. Are any of those ongoing and, if so, what progress has been made? Does the Minister receive an update on all the visits? Are they successful or are clients going elsewhere? As the Minister knows, the highest number of commercial vacancies in my constituency is in County Sligo. The national unemployment rate is 6.6% but it is much higher in my constituency. I have heard announcements concerning foreign direct investment in Dublin and elsewhere on the east coast, but our area has a major problem with Brexit which is coming down the tracks quickly.

The Minister rightly referred to Enterprise Ireland, and I acknowledge its work as well as the work being done by local enterprise offices or LEOs. In the third level sector, Sligo Institute of Technology and St. Angela's College produce an adequate number of talented graduates. However, I have expressed my concern about jobs in my constituency to the Minister on a number of occasions.

I do not wish to be rude but can I stop the Deputy there? I would like to allow the Minister to reply and I will then let the Deputy have another minute.

I acknowledge that Deputy McLoughlin and I have had numerous conversations in County Sligo. County Sligo is close to my heart because while my family is from Galway, most of them live in County Sligo. Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland and the LEOs are all working hard to ensure that jobs are landed. A wonderful new IDA Ireland advance factory has been built in Sligo and I am hopeful that we will be able to land a good company there with sustainable jobs.

The Deputy also asked me if site visits were being followed up. IDA Ireland follows up every lead, as I have seen for myself when I am with them. I cannot answer the question fully because it is commercially sensitive and so I could not possible tell the Deputy what companies will decide to invest in Sligo. However, not only are we conducting site visits there but we are also talking to companies to make sure that if they want to expand they will be helped to do so. We will continue to do that. There are excellent people in Sligo from IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and the local enterprise office. There is also an excellent chamber of commerce and trading community.

I acknowledge what the Minister has said about personnel from the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and the LEOs. I have often wondered about providing incentives to bring people to the west and north west. On the east coast, including Dublin, it can be difficult to find homes to buy or school places for children. Additional incentives should therefore be provided to companies to relocate to the Sligo-Leitrim region because we have all the necessary facilities there. The work of the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and LEOs in trying to attract more jobs to the north west is vitally important.

The Acting Chairman, Deputy Eugene Murphy, referred earlier to his own area of Roscommon. This is a plea from the heart for more investment in the north west. I know the Minister is doing her utmost, but additional incentives would encourage people to come to the west. If they do come, as the Minister's family has done in recent years, they will never leave. More employment is needed in the region, but rates are too high.

I will keep the Minister's reply to one minute because I want to get through more questions.

I agree, Chair. Deputy McLoughlin mentioned Sligo Institute of Technology which is a wonderful place. I have met the institute's president and there are fantastic courses being offered there. As the Deputy may know, when companies come to Sligo that college runs courses to make sure there is a pool of talent ready. There is also a wonderful tourism sector in the area. Some 584 new jobs were created there from 2011 to 2016. I can assure the Deputy that I try to get to Sligo as often as I can to see my new granddaughter. I am very conscious of all the attractions that Sligo has. There are talented people there in addition to effective personnel from the IDA and Enterprise Ireland. We will make sure to keep the pressure on to land those jobs in Sligo.

IDA Ireland Site Visits

Niamh Smyth

Question:

12. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if there are any planned IDA Ireland or FDI visits to counties Cavan or Monaghan in 2017; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14433/17]

I wish to ask the Minister if any IDA Ireland or FDI visits are planned to counties Cavan or Monaghan in 2017 and if she will make a statement on the matter.

I am informed that, for reasons of commercial sensitivity and client confidentiality, IDA Ireland does not comment on upcoming site visits by potential investors.

The agency maintains statistics in relation to site visits by potential investors on a quarterly basis. The latest data available cover 2016 only. During 2016 there was a total of two IDA Ireland sponsored site visits by potential investors to County Cavan and two site visits to County Monaghan.

It is expected that data on site visits for the first quarter of 2017 will be available next month.

It is important also to note that data on site visits is not necessarily an accurate measure of the level of foreign direct investment. IDA Ireland actively encourages clients to locate in regional locations. The final decision, however, lies with the investor. Cavan and Monaghan at end of 2016 had 12 companies and 1,340 jobs supported by IDA Ireland.

I am going to read out some figures to the Minister regarding IDA Ireland visits to Cavan and Monaghan from 2012 to 2016. I have to read them into the record because they are so appalling. In Cavan in 2012 we had three visits, in 2013 we had two visits, in 2014 we had one, in 2015 we had zero and in 2016 we had two. Monaghan, similarly, had zero in 2012, one in 2013, zero in 2014, two in 2015 and two visits in 2016.

Out of 636 total visits nationwide in 2016, Cavan and Monaghan had only two IDA Ireland site visits each while Dublin alone had 284. I know the Minister will say the companies decide where they want to go and all the rest but there seriously has to be a concentrated emphasis on making a special case for the Border counties.

I hear the Deputy. She knows that I have met the Cavan and Monaghan groups and the Deputies from the area. The figures from IDA Ireland are not great but in Monaghan there are 5,168 jobs supported by Enterprise Ireland. That is also an agency under my aegis. There are 903 jobs supported by the Local Enterprise Offices, LEOs. It is the same kind of story in Cavan where there are 1,162 LEO jobs and 5,221 jobs from Enterprise Ireland. I know the Deputy might not be getting it from IDA Ireland but I am really pushing. I know that it is the policy of IDA Ireland to ensure that companies which come looking in Ireland go to visit the regions, but honestly it is the chief executives that decide where they will visit. I will keep pushing however.

I acknowledge the work the Minister is trying to do. Obviously, I also acknowledge the work that Enterprise Ireland is doing and the work done by our LEOs in Cavan and Monaghan, including assistant head of enterprise, Jim Fox, in Cavan and John McEntagart, head of the Monaghan LEO. That work is wonderful, however we are having a brain drain out of our two counties. The skilled jobs are just not there.

I ask the Minister to work with her colleagues, including in the Department of Education and Skills and particularly in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, and specifically the Minister, Deputy Heather Humphreys, to ensure such co-operation between the various Departments. Of course we do not have the infrastructure to make these places attractive. I am the first to acknowledge that. The biggest disgrace of all is that our N3 stops at the Cavan border. If one looks at a map of this island, it is absolutely atrocious and disgraceful to see how our counties have been treated in terms of infrastructure, particularly with roads. That certainly does not help our case when the Minister is out there with IDA Ireland is trying to attract jobs and visits. There really needs to be cooperation between the various Departments to make sure there is a special case.

I am not exaggerating. The Minister should take out the map. I was shocked myself at a recent meeting in Monaghan County Council when a map was taken out to show us the road infrastructure. We do not have a rail service. That cross-departmental work is going to be key to making us attractive to IDA Ireland. I ask the Minister please to do that.

I hear exactly what the Deputy is saying but we do have a north-east, north-west action plan. We have a plan to make sure that jobs are created, whether they are IDA Ireland jobs, which I would like to see more of, or Enterprise Ireland jobs, LEO jobs or InterTradeIreland jobs. Just to put it on the record, there were actually 2,339 jobs created by InterTradeIreland in 2016. One of the key actions in that regional action plan is an M1 digital payments cluster. This is a key part of that action plan for jobs which proposes the creation of a digital payments hub in Drogheda. The Deputy knows that I co-hosted the meeting on that with the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and that it was in her office with the Deputies from Cavan and Monaghan.

We also had the establishment of the two regional skills fora, one for the north east and one for the north west, in the plan. We are also supporting a wide range of tourism developments across the regions, including a 22 km greenway project between County Monaghan and County Armagh. It is absolutely on my radar. I assure the Deputy that the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, reminds me of that every time I meet her, as do our other Deputies.

Business Parks

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

13. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 634 and 635 of 21 February 2017, the number of employees at each of the IDA Ireland business and technology parks and landbanks in north Dublin; her plans for business parks in Fingal and north Dublin; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14414/17]

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

39. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 634 and 635 of 21 February 2017, her plans for the greenfield site and Belcamp business and tech park; the tenants that she is hoping to attract to the area; the timeframe in which she will have the park operational; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14411/17]

I just want to follow up on a previous question I asked the Minister about Clonshaugh industrial estate and the proposed Belcamp industrial park in the north fringe. As the Minister knows it is a critical area of the northside. In light of some of the earlier, very passionate, speeches I am very much in favour of regional development. I support all possible jobs for Roscommon, Sligo and other parts of the country because we need to reach the whole county, but I am focusing on this. I think we have about 100 acres there. It is a greenfield site. There was an illegal dump on it, which had been cleared. IDA Ireland has owned it for approximately 15 years. Are we going to move on that and start creating jobs there?

I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 and 39 together.

IDA Ireland owns five business parks and one greenfield site in north Dublin. The agency also markets a business park in Blanchardstown which has been developed as a joint venture with Fingal County Council. There are 696 IDA Ireland client companies in Dublin. I understand that the agency does not track the number of people the Deputy asked about in each park.

I am informed that in 1997, IDA Ireland acquired approximately, as the Deputy said, 48 ha at Belcamp in north Dublin. In 2001, a waste landfill covering approximately 1.5 ha was found at the site. Investigations revealed that the illegal dumping in this area occurred in the early 1980s. The agency's current objective is to remediate the land affected by the dumping.

In January 2015, IDA Ireland completed a freehold sale of around 2 ha of the lands unaffected by the waste, to the ESB. The balance of the unaffected land has been master-planned as a data centre hub and is currently being marketed to the agency’s clients.

I have asked IDA Ireland’s property development department to make itself available to meet with Deputy Broughan should he wish to discuss these matters in more detail.

I would be delighted to do that and I welcome that. I also hope that the IDA will liaise with all our local agencies, particularly with Fingal County Council, as it is in Fingal, under manager Paul Reid. I hope it will liaise with Dublin City Council, Dublin City University, the education and training board and all the other agencies, in particular some of the local development agencies. I am thinking in particular of Coolock Development Council, of which I have a been a board member for the past 30 years.

Vis-à-vis recent discussion, probably the greatest head IDA Ireland ever had was Padraic White. Padraic voluntarily chaired our council for the past 27 years and was fantastic help to the north Coolock area and the general northside area in liaising with local business in Clonshaugh and so on. We want to keep these linkages.

A few weeks ago I was at the 40th anniversary dinner of Allergan. Allergan is an amazing American company on which the Taoiseach made a very good speech. Allergan is in Westport and in Coolock, with two major facilities employing a couple of thousand workers. That is the kind of thing we need to encourage into the future. We are very anxious to have Belcamp, which used to be called the Fingal industrial park, going ahead in this region where maybe another 25 or 30 homes are going to be built, it is hoped, over the next few years.

Swords will grow to a city of, perhaps, 100,000 people given the second runway and so on. We need the industrial park.

The Minister is aware that I have put forward a proposal in regard to 29 acres of land owned by the State that is available for a business park at Killgarry in Cavan. I put forward a specific proposal in regard to the possibility of locating a new data centre there. It has the acreage and infrastructure from the point of view of telecommunications, water, sewerage and the road network. I appeal to the Minister to intercede with IDA Ireland. It is an ideal piece of infrastructure to attract inward investment to a region that needs it.

I will take on board the issue raised by Deputy Smith and will talk to IDA Ireland about the data centre.

In response to Deputy Broughan, I have met the Fingal county manager, Mr. Paul Reid, to discuss development issues in Fingal. He sits on the Dublin regional action plan for jobs, which is an important driver of growth in north Dublin. I am very aware of the five business parks and greenfield site in Dublin, many of which are located near the Deputy's constituency. They include Blanchardstown, the Swords business park, Clonshaugh business park and the Belcamp business park, to which the Deputy has referred.

Fingal and south county Dublin own two further sites which are used by IDA Ireland, namely, the IDA Ireland college business park in Blanchardstown, which is overseen by Fingal County Council, and the Grange Castle strategic site in south County Dublin. I will meet Mr. Reid very soon. He is a very competent chief executive of the county council. I will make sure we discuss the matter to which the Deputy referred.

Written Answers are published on the Oireachtas website.
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