Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 May 2017
262. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if her Department has examined the way in which Brexit may potentially contribute to greater regional imbalance in terms of employment here; the specific measures she plans to implement to mitigate against this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25109/17]
View answerBrexit poses significant challenges to the development of Irish owned industry and in particular to the regions which can be more dependent on Irish-owned medium and large businesses.
The regions are often heavily dependent on a small number of larger Irish companies and these companies can be found in traditional, labour intensive but very competitive sectors such as Food, Construction and Manufacturing/Engineering. There are a number of industry subsectors and major employers where exports to the UK make up in excess of 40% of total exports. The Construction Products, Construction Services, Engineering, Agriculture Machinery, Timber, Furniture and Food are all sectors that have a high level of sales to the UK and are very regionally dispersed sectors.
The regional spread of the Enterprise Ireland cohort of companies is very much to the forefront of my strategic planning for Brexit. For the longer term, it is important that we intensify our supports to build the competitiveness of individual companies that have the ambition and the capability to compete on world markets.
Enterprise Ireland (EI) and the Local Enterprises Offices are the main vehicles for channelling Government support to start ups and business expansion in the regions. Some 84% of LEO client jobs are outside of Dublin and Cork urban areas and 62% of EI client employment is located in the regions. In 2016, 65% of payments by Enterprise Ireland were to companies located outside of Dublin.
Both regional balance and Brexit are significant components of the 2017 Action Plan for Jobs, the Regional Action Plans and the Rural Development Action Plan.
The Regional Action Plans for Jobs initiative is a concrete example of the targeted approach we are undertaking to boost regional employment and to support each region to achieve its economic potential. We are seeing progress. The most recent QNHS figures show that over 77% of the new jobs added in the year to Q1 2017 were outside Dublin, with the unemployment rate falling across all regions in the same period.
As well as being a top priority at Government level, the implications of the Brexit vote on Irish enterprises are, and will continue to be, an important item on the agenda of meetings of the 9 Regional Implementation Committees that are charged with overseeing and monitoring the Regional Plans.
On Monday 29 May, I will launch a €60m Regional Enterprise Development Fund with Minister of State for Employment and Labour Pat Breen TD. The Fund will support major new collaborative and innovative initiatives that can make a significant impact on enterprise development and job creation in the region/across regions or nationally. The competitive process for funding will be managed by Enterprise Ireland.
Through this €60m fund, the Government will be backing local stakeholders to drive their own futures by putting forward their own proposals to deliver sustainable employment.
Investing in Regional Enterprise Infrastructure is a crucial response to building the resilience of our regions to cope with any external challenge. By strengthening the infrastructure at local, regional and national levels, we aim to stimulate a new generation of entrepreneurs, support and grow established enterprises and encourage their ambition, and scale more businesses with global potential.
As the situation evolves, we will monitor the potential and real impacts of Brexit on each Region.
