Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 April 2014
118. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the reason there is so little investment in the south east in view of the fact that it is such an unemployment black spot, especially for young persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17306/14]
View answerI am very conscious that there are quite specific, deep rooted, and long standing challenges facing the South East region – it consistently has a high level of unemployment and also has fared badly on other economic indicators. However it is incorrect to assume that a lack of investment in the region is now a significant factor.
Over recent years there has been a wide range of significant investment in the South East region. This includes the provision of major road infrastructure, with the completion of the M9 motorway, the N25 Waterford city By-pass and the new Suir river crossing. Other significant items include additional water and waste water treatment capacity, provision of extensive broadband, major urban renewal works in Waterford city, extra facilities for Bellview Port and major educational investment, with Waterford Institute of Technology alone having invested €150m over the last 10 years in capital projects. Many other smaller scale investments to enhance facilities and capacity have also been carried out in the region.
Following the closure of the Talk Talk Call Centre, in 2011, I commissioned Forfás to undertake a comprehensive analysis of the region - the South East Region Employment Action Plan. To pursue implementation of the Action Plan, I initiated the South East Forum, comprising the State agencies and other bodies, working together to maximise benefits for the region. I have visited the region several times since taking office and I chaired meetings of the Forum in Waterford City, where I spoke to many of the key stakeholders and learned at first hand of the many challenges facing its economic development.
I am very pleased that the two main Development Agencies have achieved notable successes over the last few years. Enterprise Ireland (EI) has worked closely with the new EISTECH Call Centre, which now employs 500 staff in Waterford and 250 staff in Wexford. By this Summer the company have stated that they expect these numbers to have risen to 600 in Waterford and 350 in Wexford, as they secure new contracts. EI has also supported a major investment by Glanbia in Belview on the Kilkenny-Waterford border, which will provide 1,600 direct and indirect jobs, as well as an additional 450 jobs created during the construction phase. In addition, EI has supported new job creation by Dawn Meats in Waterford and Danone Baby Nutrition in Wexford.
In relation to the work of IDA Ireland, that Agency had two notable successes last year. In February 2013, Sanofi announced plans to invest €44m in Genzyme’s biotechnology campus in Waterford. This investment will increase the site’s diversity of products and comes on top of a €150m investment a little more than a year previously. The investment ensures that the Waterford facility, which currently employs approximately 500 people, can produce the company’s latest products and provides an indication of the Waterford site’s value to the company. In March 2013, Nypro Healthcare announced plans to establish an additional state of the art medical devices facility in Waterford. This will result in the creation of over 200 new high quality jobs in the coming years.
Furthermore, in order to improve the offering in the Region to win new business, IDA Ireland has signed contracts for the construction of an advanced manufacturing facility in Waterford. This facility, which will be 2,348 sq metres in area, will be located in the IDA Technology Park at Butlerstown and will be completed by year end.
In relation to site visits by prospective foreign companies, that Agency arranged a total of 107 site visits to the South East region over the last five years.
In addition, the local County Enterprise Boards have been very active in developing micro-enterprises and have created a significant number of jobs over recent years.
Regarding actual unemployment levels, it is very satisfying that significant progress has been made. The latest data from the Central Statistics Office show that an additional 15,000 jobs have been created in the region during 2013, resulting in the unemployment rate having dropped from 18.8% to 15.5% in the last year alone. While the region still has the highest unemployment rate in the State, the gap between this rate and the national average is narrowing.
All the key State players have been actively pursuing initiatives to facilitate development and job creation in the South East region, and with continued co-operation and collaboration, it is hoped that real benefits will continue to be achieved for the region.
