Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 April 2014
112. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the way Enterprise Ireland and the Industrial Development Agency Ireland supported companies can be encouraged to develop greater links with other local businesses and training facilities to support the wider economy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17459/14]
View answerUnder the 2013 Action Plan for Jobs, IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland are working together to leverage the linkages between Irish owned and Foreign owned enterprises in Ireland through, for example, the Global Sourcing Initiative which targets increased purchases by FDI companies in Ireland. IDA Ireland client companies purchased a total of €12.745bn worth of goods and services in the Republic of Ireland in 2012: comprising €2.364bn of materials and €10.381bn of services.
IDA and Enterprise Ireland continue to work closely together on a number of joint initiatives to strengthen linkages between indigenous and multinational enterprises. This includes active engagement to assist appropriate indigenous companies to optimise supply chain business opportunities presented by the MNC community. This engagement will be overseen by a joint EI/IDA Senior Management Team. An example of the linkage between indigenous and multinational enterprises is the target to progress the implementation of the Global Sourcing Strategy across EI and IDA to increase global sourcing sales by EI client companies by €100m over three years and €30m in 2014 alone.
Later this month, the 31 Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) throughout the country will be launched. The LEOs represent a transformation of the support structure for micro and small enterprises across every county. The new service means that national enterprise policy and local business supports have been brought together to strengthen the local business culture and environment, combining the best of the former County and City Enterprise Boards and the Local Authorities, overseen by the Centre of Excellence in Enterprise Ireland.
Action 177 of the Action Plan for Jobs 2014 mandates my Department, EI and IDA Ireland, to develop a framework for a Regional Enterprise Strategy to better integrate and develop new ways of working, further collaborations and enhance the efforts and activities of these agencies and the other regional stakeholders, including 3rd level and other education and training providers, in building enterprise based on sustainable competitive advantage of the region. Regional towns as the drivers of regional economies will obviously be central to the development of these strategies to further enhance the activities of the agencies and the new LEO network across the regions.
