Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 May 2015
28. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the way he and his Department communicated the need for new or upgraded infrastructure with other Departments and agencies responsible for providing or leading such investment; and if there are permanent lines of communication between the relevant parties in order that investment and improvements can be made without delays, which could impact on investment and job creation. [18414/15]
View answerThe availability of competitively priced world class infrastructure (energy, broadband telecoms, transport, waste and water) and related services is critical to support economic growth and job creation. Investing in economic infrastructure to underpin employment growth has been one of the key priorities of the Action Plan for Jobs since its inception in 2012. Despite the economic downturn this Government has continued to prioritise investment in key infrastructures and as set out in the 2015 Spring Economic Statement is committed to infrastructure investment to underpin future growth and the Public Capital Programme will be published over the coming months.
My Department and its agencies are continually engaged with relevant stakeholders on the particular infrastructure needs required to support enterprise development and job creation. The stakeholders include other Government Departments, regulatory bodies and public and private infrastructure providers. In addition, I am a member of the Economic Infrastructure and Climate Change Cabinet Committee. Officials from my Department are members of the relevant Inter-departmental Committees.
As the country returns to growth, further targeted investment and reform is required to address existing and likely infrastructural bottlenecks which could constrain growth in the economy by dampening productivity growth, increasing costs and limiting sectoral opportunities for foreign direct investment (FDI) and indigenous enterprise development. However, given the constraints on Government finances, capital investment in the short term must remain highly targeted and support our broad economic development objectives. In this context, I announced earlier this year as part of the Action Plan for Jobs an investment programme of €150m over five years by my Department through IDA Ireland in utility intensive sites to help attract more multinational jobs to the regions.
My Department (and previously through Forfás) assesses Ireland’s performance in meeting the infrastructure needs (energy, telecoms, transport, waste and water) of enterprise on a frequent basis. For example, in June 2014, Forfás made a submission to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform’s review of capital investment outlining the main capital priorities for the period to 2020 to support enterprise development and job creation. The review, which will focus on infrastructural investment consistent with the Government’s economic and social priorities including the investments that would best support economic recovery and social progress, is to be published next month.
There is also significant scope for Government to improve infrastructure capacity and deliver more cost effective, higher quality services to business users without the need for Exchequer investment by addressing policy and regulatory barriers. It is critically important to put in place the right policy and regulatory framework to give investors the confidence to commit to long-term projects, and ensure the supply chain has the certainty and tools it needs to deliver effectively. For example, as part of the Action Plan for Jobs 2012, I requested Forfás to undertake a study to identify changes in the operation of sectoral regulators that would enhance cost competitiveness, which informed the Government Policy Statement on Economic Regulation, published in July 2013.
