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Regional Development Initiatives

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 July 2016

Wednesday, 20 July 2016

Questions (450)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

450. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which consideration remains to be given to supporting regional developments in a way likely to spread economic growth throughout the regions thereby preventing imbalances; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23279/16]

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Written answers

The Government Plan is to create 200,000 jobs by 2020, including 135,000 jobs outside Dublin - my focus is to ensure that every region in the country is supported in achieving its economic potential and maximising opportunities for job creation.

The Regional Action Plans for Jobs are playing a significant role in the delivery of regional enterprise and employment growth, by driving collaboration between key stakeholders and working in partnership with the enterprise sector to build on local strengths and deliver new ideas. Their objective is to increase employment by 10% to 15% in each region, and to ensure their unemployment rate is within one per cent of the State average. This goal is underpinned by key targets for all regions, including increasing the number of entrepreneurs/start-ups in each region by minimum 25%, improving the survival rate and scaling performance of companies; increasing FDI investment into each region by 30% to 40%; and increasing the flow of critical skills to each region’s enterprises.

Delivering balanced growth also requires a renewed focus on building regional strengths and areas of competitive advantage to develop the environment for business to start, grow and succeed and to attract inward investment.

Since 2015, IDA Ireland has been working towards the targets set out in its strategy, “Winning: Foreign Direct Investment 2015-2019”. Under this strategy, ambitious investment targets have been set on a regional basis for the first time. IDA Ireland aims to increase overall investment by 30% to 40% in each region. In 2016, Enterprise Ireland is targeting its clients to deliver 12,000 new jobs, €22bn in exports (from 18.6bn in 2014) and €2.4bn in new exports. EI’s new Strategy 2017-2020 will be finalised in 2016 and will contain ambitious new targets for supporting start-ups, exports and jobs across all regions. Each Local Enterprise Office has a Local Enterprise Development Plan (LEDP), setting out clearly what the LEO intends to deliver over the following 12 months. The Plans identify and prioritise the key enterprise sectors and entrepreneurial capacity challenges that need to be targeted in each LEO’s functional area.

The enterprise agencies are also delivering on their elements of the Regional Action Plans to stimulate employment growth across the country; Enterprise Ireland and IDA jobs figures for 2015 show that all regions have experienced agency-related jobs growth. Net jobs created through IDA companies amounted to 11,833 in 2015, with 53% of new IDA jobs located outside Dublin. Of the 21,118 new jobs created by EI client companies, almost two thirds of these (64%) were created outside Dublin. The LEOs delivered over 3,500 net new jobs across all regions in 2015.

My Department is also providing funding of up to €250 million to support all Regional Action Plans, to be provided over the next five years to Enterprise Ireland and IDA. This comprises a €150m Regional Property Programme delivered by IDA and up to €100 million available through three Enterprise Ireland competitive calls. These competitive calls are open to all regions, and are targeted at innovative and collaborative approaches to supporting local job creation. In June this year, I announced an initial allocation of €5 million in competitive funding for 48 local and regional initiatives across the country under two competitive regional funding calls administered by Enterprise Ireland; the LEO Competitive Fund and the Community Enterprise Initiative. Further competitive regional funding calls will be rolled out on a phased basis.

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