Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 July 2012
296 Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will outline on a county basis the number of jobs announced by IDA Ireland to date in 2012, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36189/12]
View answerDetails of IDA Ireland's job and investment announcements are available on the Agency's website and show that, at end June, there had been in excess of 5,000 jobs announced this year. Almost half of these jobs will be in locations outside of Dublin and Cork which will contribute to balanced regional development. This strong performance is a continuation of the excellent results achieved in 2011 when over 13,000 new jobs were created in IDA client companies.
There is no doubt that the actions taken by Government since coming to office in improving our competitiveness in areas such as office rents, construction costs, unit labour costs and business services have greatly helped to boost IDA Ireland's foreign direct investment (FDI) performance.
IDA Ireland has been set a very challenging target under the Government's Action Plan for Jobs. The target is to create 12,500 jobs with an associated 8,750 in the wider economy, giving a total impact of 21,250 in 2012. IDA Ireland has assured me that it is optimistic that Ireland can continue to win significant FDI, building on its strong track record. IDA Ireland is continuing to target a number of sectors that will continue to grow, even in a globally challenging environment. These include IT/Technology, Digital Media and Lifesciences. Even in areas of low or no growth, the Agency is confident that FDI opportunities will arise in sectors such as the consolidation of technology and operations hubs in global financial institutions and consolidation of operations in a number of other sectors.
