Written Answers Nos. 34 - 43
34. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the mechanisms that have been developed to promote and deliver early stage investment by the Irish diaspora in new indigenous and inward startups as promised in the Action Plan for Jobs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51857/12]
View answerThe development and support of new High Potential Start-Ups in Ireland is a top priority of mine as Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. An objective of the Action Plan for Jobs 2012 is to continue the development of mechanisms to promote and deliver early stage investment in new indigenous start-ups from international sources, including the Irish diaspora. The following initiatives are being progressed by Government to enable the achievement of this objective in relation to the Irish diaspora:
A €10 million International Start-Up Fund administered by Enterprise Ireland, aimed at encouraging overseas entrepreneurs to locate start-up businesses in Ireland, was launched in October 2011. The Fund is open to company promoters anywhere in the world, but is being targeted particularly at the Irish diaspora, international expatriates, the “New Diaspora” (people from overseas who have previously worked or studied in Ireland), as well as serial and mobile entrepreneurs. To date, 12 projects have been approved and are underway, while a strong pipeline of prospects for conversion in 2013 has also been established.
The second call for expressions of interest under the Innovation Fund Ireland was launched on 15th March 2012 with a closing date of 14th June 2012. As part of the announcement, the Government through Enterprise Ireland will invest a total of more than €60million in Venture Capital Funds which establish a presence in Ireland. I expect to be in a position to announce further investments under this Fund in the near-term.
On 8th March 2012, the Government launched the “Succeed in Ireland” initiative, administered by IDA Ireland, which aims to create 5,000 jobs within five years by targeting international companies and business people, who would otherwise not be reached by the State enterprise agencies, for employment opportunities to Ireland. This initiative can be accessed via the Connect Ireland website http://www.connectireland.com/
The “Succeed in Ireland” initiative provides direct financial incentives to people around the world to create employment in Ireland by making payments to people responsible for bringing sustainable jobs to Ireland. Small and medium sized companies around the world considering expansion, but who would not be large enough to be reached by the State enterprise agencies, will be targeted in particular by the new initiative. The Irish community around the world will be a major focus of the programme. One project has already been announced – Intergeo Services is to establish its European, Middle East and African (EMEA) Headquarters in Carlow, with the potential for 30 skilled jobs.
Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland’s Senior Management team are focusing on the roll-out of a number of joint pilot initiatives, including marketing and events aimed at attracting entrepreneurs and start-ups to Ireland. The first joint event was held from 8th-12th September 2012. Joint preparations are underway for the ‘Le Web’ event which is taking place in Paris in December 2012. The joint senior management team will continue to work on identifying further areas of engagement during 2013 as well as refining current approaches.
Other initiatives to address investment in Ireland include: the development and launch of the Immigrant Investor Programme in April 2012; the holding of an International Investor Forum in London on 21 November hosted by Enterprise Ireland; and the sharing of information through the Global Irish Network, which is operated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland. This Network provides information on relevant events focussed on investment in indigenous start-up companies and the Business Angels Network. Discussions are underway on ways to enhance and facilitate awareness and engagement by members of the Global Irish Network.
35. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the targets set and actions taken to increase investment by business as a percentage of GDP. [51897/12]
View answerThe Government’s priority is to get Ireland back to work. The Action Plan for Jobs is designed to help achieve that ambition and, as part of the Action Plan, the Government has set out a series of ambitions which represent key investment and employment goals:
- To become the best small country in which to do business.
- To build world-class clusters in key sectors of opportunity.
- To build an indigenous engine of growth that drives up the export market share of Irish companies.
- To support the creation of 100,000 net new jobs by 2016 with the longer term objective of having 2 million people at work by 2020.
In seeking to deliver on these objectives, the Action Plan for Jobs sets out a major programme of work representing more than 270 individual actions for delivery during 2012. The targets that have been set for the enterprise development agencies relate to the number of jobs to be created and the number of business investments to be won rather than in percentages of GDP. For example, IDA Ireland’s specific targets for job creation and investment for the period 2010 to 2014 are set out in the Agency’s Strategy document “Horizon 2020” as follows:
- 105,000 new jobs (62,000 in IDA supported companies and a further 43,000 indirect).
- 640 Investments.
- 50% of investments located outside Dublin and Cork.
- 20% of greenfield investments originating from emerging markets by 2014.
- Annual client spend of €1.7bn in R, D&I by 2014.
In the case of Enterprise Ireland, while the Agency is working on a number of areas to increase business investment and extend its direct financial support to grow companies, the targets set relate to numbers rather than a percentage of GDP. By way of illustration, some of their targets for 2012 include:
- To support 200 significant investment projects by client companies (i.e. projects entailing a total investment of €500,000 or more) has been set in the Action Plan for Jobs and is expected to be achieved.
- To support 95 High Potential Start-Ups (HPSUs) during 2012, which will be the highest number of HPSUs ever supported.
- In relation to R&D, the goal is to have at least 740 companies spending at least €100,000 on R&D per annum.
Additionally, Enterprise Ireland has focused on the development of a Seed and Venture Capital industry in Ireland, with recent activity including the introduction of a new Seed fund, the launch of the Development Capital Scheme and the second call for Innovation Fund Ireland.
With regard to investment in research and development (R&D), Ireland’s goal under the Europe 2020 Strategy is to improve the conditions for R&D with the aim of raising combined public and private investment levels to 2.5% of GNP (c. 2.0% of GDP) by 2020 and we are currently on track to reach that target. The latest available data show that the research intensity rate for 2011 is now estimated at 2.17% of GNP (1.77% of GDP) with Business Expenditure on R&D amounting to 1.52% of GNP, which is equivalent to 1.2% of GDP.
36. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the total number of jobs welcomed by his Department for each of the past three years, and the number of these additional jobs in situ by the end of each year. [51899/12]
View answerAs Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, I welcome all announcements concerning the creation of jobs. All press releases relating to job creation issued by my Department’s Press Office are available at www.enterprise.gov.ie/Press-Releases. Details of Enterprise Ireland’s job and investment announcements to end October 2012, and those of IDA Ireland and Shannon Development, are published on their respective websites – www.enterprise-ireland.com; www.idaireland.ie and www.shannon-dev.ie. However, I should point out that some investment and job creation projects in client companies are not announced by these agencies, for example, in cases where the company involved does not wish this to happen.
The Forfás Annual Employment Survey reports on jobs created in companies that are supported by the Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. The figures in respect of 2009, 2010 and 2011 are set out in the Tables accompanying this reply. As this data is compiled on an annualised basis, the figures in respect of 2012 will not be available until early 2013. It is not possible to provide information in respect of individual companies as such information is provided by the client companies on a confidential basis and for statistical purposes only.
Table 1
|
Enterprise Ireland Employment Data |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
|
Full Time Jobs |
145,767 |
141,222 |
141,228 |
|
Full Time Job Gains |
8,464 |
11,001 |
9,076 |
Table 2
|
IDA Ireland Employment Data |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
|
Full Time Jobs |
141,094 |
139,375 |
143,079 |
|
Full Time Job Gains |
5,239 |
9,075 |
11,594 |
37. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the impact recent declines in chemical and related projects may have on employment and Departmental strategy. [51901/12]
View answerThe Forfás Annual Employment Survey monitors job numbers in companies which are supported by the enterprise development agencies. The 2011 survey shows that net employment in IDA supported companies in the pharmaceutical and healthcare services sector, which includes the pharmachemical sector, increased by 1,400 during 2011. Employment in Enterprise Ireland client companies in the sector rose by 20% in 2011. Latest data show that the pharmaceutical sector employed almost 25,000 people in 2011 with exports valued at almost €40 billion.
In seeking to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) to Ireland, IDA Ireland’s strategy for the pharmaceutical sector has been to win leading company investment and to diversify the breadth of operations over multiproduct sites including associated services and development of new compounds. This strategy is being successfully implemented with the result that Ireland is now home to eight of the major global pharmaceutical companies and the world’s number one biotechnology company.
The history of FDI in Ireland is the progressive addition of new sectors and business models enabled by new technologies and innovative policy interventions. Recognising that continued success requires a process of constant transformation and a move to higher value added products and outputs, IDA Ireland, in accordance with its Horizon 2020 Strategy, is focusing, in particular, on biopharmaceuticals, which represent the next wave of opportunity in the pharmaceutical industry. The Agency has successfully attracted and developed globally leading programmes from companies such as Allergan, Amgen, Centocor, Eli Lilly, Genzyme, Merck and Pfizer. Ireland now has a globally leading biopharmaceutical cluster in the next generation of Pharmaceutical products.
The success of pharmaceutical companies in Ireland reflects the targeted approach taken by IDA to this important global industry and the many advantages that Ireland has in terms of skills, track record, infrastructure etc. We will always seek to maintain an appropriate mix in our industrial and enterprise base and the other areas that we are seeking to develop reflects this eg. ICT, Digital Content, Games, Financial Services etc. As this Government's policies begin to reverse the damage inflicted on the economy by over-reliance on construction, I would expect these other sectors to increase their volume of exports and associated jobs.
38. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will account for the delay in implementing nine measures of the action plan for jobs that were due in Quarter three of this year. [51876/12]
View answerThe Action Plan for Jobs contains over 270 individual actions to be delivered in 2012, spanning all Government Departments and 36 State agencies. The 270 actions are further broken down into Quarterly milestones or “measures”. Progress Reports on the delivery of these measures are published at the end of each Quarter. The third Progress Report on the Action Plan for Jobs was published on 17th October last. It showed that 218 (96%) of the 227 measures to be achieved in the first three Quarters of 2012 were delivered on time. Nine measures for completion in Quarter 3 were delayed. Three of these directly involve my Department. They relate to legislative measures covering:
- the extension of SFI’s remit to allow the agency to fund applied research,
- the proposed new structure for the employment rights institutions, and
- the Consolidated Companies Bill.
These pieces of legislation have been delayed for a number of reasons, including the detailed and complex nature of the legislation in question, the demand on resources in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, and the availability of time for legislative business in the Houses of the Oireachtas. However, I expect to publish the Consolidated Companies Bill by the end of the year and every effort is being made to ensure that the remaining legislation is progressed as quickly as possible.
One of the other measures which was delayed in Quarter 3 involves the introduction of a voluntary Code of Conduct for payments within the private sector. This measure is for delivery by the business sector. However, there has been positive engagement between my Department and business representative groups on the matter and I am confident that substantial progress will be made on the publication of a Code of Conduct in 2013. The remaining five measures fall under the remit of other Government Departments. Updates on these measures are included in the third Progress Report on the Action Plan for Jobs which is available on my Department’s website, www.enterprise.gov.ie.
39. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide the research has been carried out by his Department on the impact on jobs and business viability of increasing the burden on employers to cover the costs of statutory sick pay. [51877/12]
View answerI have outlined my position on this matter on a number of occasions in previous replies to the House. As I have indicated, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, initiated a consultation process earlier this year on the feasibility and implications of introducing a statutory sick pay scheme. This was very much a first step in considering a range of issues that need to be examined in detail before any proposals can be progressed to possible implementation. Any formal proposals for changes in the sick pay scheme would have to be examined by Government as part of the budgetary process. However, to assist me in my consideration of these matters generally, I asked Forfás to examine the potential impact on competitiveness and employment of statutory sick pay, if such a scheme were to be introduced in this country. The report provided to me by Forfás forms part of a deliberative process of Government business, and it would not be appropriate for me to publish the report at this stage.
40. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in view of the changed economic environment, if he has sought to renegotiate the European regional grant aid regime that governs the grants that will be offered to foreign direct investment in each county in the State. [51898/12]
View answerThe Regional Aid Guidelines govern the areas in which Member States may grant Regional Aid, more commonly known as investment aid. Investment aid is intended to promote the economic development of certain disadvantaged areas within the European Union in order to redress regional disparities. Decisions on Regional Aid eligibility are taken by examining, in the first instance, the relative position regarding the various Member States Gross Domestic Product. After that, unemployment rates are also taken into account.
The current Regional Aid Map for 2007-13 was drawn up in accordance with the Commission’s Current Regional Aid Guidelines. The details of the support in terms of aid intensity for each county are available on my Departments website www.djei.ie. The process of Member States agreeing the 2014-2021 Regional Aid Guidelines is underway. The Commission is scheduled to forward proposals to Member States in December 2012, documenting the structure and provisions that will form the basis of the revised Guidelines. For the 2014-2021 Regional Aid Map, economic data for all counties will once again be analysed afresh. My Department is actively engaged in this process in close consultation with the relevant stakeholders.
41. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of actions in the action plan for jobs that have been implemented to date; his estimate of the number of jobs that have been created under the plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51776/12]
View answerThe Action Plan for Jobs contains over 270 individual actions to be delivered in 2012, spanning all Government Departments and 36 State agencies. The 270 actions are further broken down into Quarterly milestones. Progress Reports on the delivery of these milestones are published at the end of each Quarter. Details of all actions delivered to the end of the third Quarter of the year are available in these Progress Reports on my Department’s website www.enterprise.gov.ie. The third Progress Report on the Action Plan for Jobs was published on 17 October 2012. It indicated that 218 (96%) of the 227 milestones to be achieved in the first three Quarters of 2012 have been delivered to date, with nine actions outstanding.
Some significant objectives have been realised, including the establishment of a Microfinance Fund for small business, the introduction of a Partial Credit Guarantee scheme, new supports for first time exporters, the launch of a new Women-In-Business programme, the simplification and extension of the Employer’s PRSI Exemption scheme, the launch of a National Broadband Plan, the piloting of a Health Innovation Hub, and work being undertaken to develop sectors such as Cloud Computing, Digital Games, Manufacturing, and the Green Economy.
The Action Plan for Jobs is a rolling plan and part of a multiannual process that builds on the Government’s Jobs Initiative of May 2011. The aim of the Plan is to transform the operating environment for business and support the creation of 100,000 new jobs by 2016. The Action Plan therefore has a medium-term objective, but there have been some notable positive developments in the last 18 months.
2011 saw an increase of 6,000 jobs in IDA-supported companies, compared to net losses of 15,000 jobs between 2008 and 2010. So far this year, the IDA has announced investments with the potential to create more than 8,500 further jobs as these projects come on stream. Similarly, jobs in Enterprise Ireland companies started to grow again in 2011, for the first time in three years. In the first eight months of 2012, a total of 4,669 job commitments over the next three years, linked to Enterprise Ireland approvals to client companies, were secured. Enterprise Ireland companies also achieved €15.2 billion in exports last year – the highest level ever.
While the economy has experienced job losses in sectors that were not sustainable at previous levels, such as Construction and domestic banking, employment has increased in a number of sectors that are the focus of the Action Plan for Jobs. For example, employment in the Tourism sector increased by 6,300 over the period June 2011 to June 2012. There were also modest increases in Agri-food and ICT. The number of people employed in Digital Games has also doubled since 2009. The full impact of the measures being taken under the Action Plan for Jobs will become apparent over time, but we are already seeing encouraging progress. I remain committed, along with my Government colleagues, to keeping job creation as a key priority on our agenda.
42. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the way funding will be distributed across the proposed LEO network and the way this will reflect local levels of unemployment and need. [51878/12]
View answerFollowing on from the Government Decision to restructure the existing County and City Enterprise Board network and to establish a new network of Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) within each Local Authority, it is intended that Oireachtas funding will continue to be allocated for local enterprise support under a separate subhead to Enterprise Ireland, who will have responsibility for the distribution of these funds to, and between, the Local Authorities for the Local Enterprise Offices.
It has been agreed that initially the Budget Allocation methodology will remain largely unchanged as regards Measure 1 and Measure 2 allocations. Over time, this allocation and the allocation methodology will be reviewed by my Department and Enterprise Ireland to ensure that opportunities for business development are maximised and that value for money is being secured across the LEO network. Such reviews will in the future be more greatly informed by achievement of targets and performance metrics as well as other relevant factors such as population and local demand.
To this end, Enterprise Ireland is tasked with developing, with Local Authorities, a Service Level Agreement (SLA) detailing policy, operational guidelines and metrics. This will take the form of a single national template, suitably modified to take account of local circumstances. Furthermore, currently each CEB Board is assisted by an Evaluation Committee, which makes recommendations on the most appropriate form, or level, of support for projects. This Committee is usually comprised of local professionals with banking/accounting/business expertise. It is intended that Evaluation Committees along the lines of the existing Committees will continue to operate under the new structure. It is envisaged that these measures will ensure sufficient flexibility in the funding mechanism to allow the LEOs to respond appropriately to local demand.
43. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the investment and employment goals that have been achieved by collaboration between Enterprise Ireland and the Industrial Development Agency through their joint senior management team; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51859/12]
View answerAs part of the Action Plan for Jobs, the Government has set out a series of ambitions which represent key investment and employment goals:
- To become the best small country in which to do business.
- To build world-class clusters in key sectors of opportunity.
- To build an indigenous engine of growth that drives up the export market share of Irish companies.
- To support the creation of 100,000 net new jobs by 2016 with the longer term objective of having 2 million people at work by 2020.
In seeking to deliver on these objectives, the Action Plan for Jobs sets out a major programme of work representing more than 270 individual actions for delivery during 2012. The establishment of an Enterprise Ireland/Industrial Development Authority Senior Management Team is one such action which is being implemented to drive effective collaboration on identified areas of opportunity and which can contribute to the achievement of our high level goals. The joint Senior Management Team has focused on the formulation of pilot initiatives. Some of the initiatives that have been rolled out so far include:
- The development of an Enterprise Ireland/IDA company engagement model and shared itineraries, including marketing and events, aimed at attracting entrepreneurs and start-ups to Ireland.
- Joint initiatives, including marketing and events, aimed at attracting entrepreneurs and start-ups to Ireland.
- Joint approaches to sectoral development.
The first joint event initiative aimed at attracting entrepreneurs and start-ups to Ireland was the Tech Crunch Conference which was held in San Francisco from the 8th-12th September 2012. IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland hosted a pre-conference VIP dinner for the speakers involved in the conference.
Joint preparations are underway for the ‘Le Web’ event which is taking place in Paris in December 2012. It is one of the largest technology conferences in Europe which attracts some 2,400 people from 60 countries including some of the biggest names in the US and European tech industries. IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland will have a joint presence at the conference to attract Start-Up companies and entrepreneurs to strategically grow and internationalise their business in Ireland.
Both these events are significant marketing tools for increasing Ireland’s image as being one of the best locations in Europe for early stage companies. The work of this team is not independent or separate to the work of the respective agencies, but instead contributes to the achievement of each agency’s employment and investment targets.
