Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 October 2017
17. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the amount spent on the three year investment programme winning abroad which commenced in 2014; the value being obtained for this spend; the new sector and business opportunities which have been identified; the number of jobs that have been created; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43031/17]
View answerThe “Winning Abroad” Programme was launched by IDA Ireland in 2014. It provided for the engagement of up to 35 additional personnel by the Agency to deliver new jobs for people in Ireland. Its other key objectives included targeting new forms of foreign direct investment and broadening the geographic base from which the Agency seeks and secures overseas investment.
Since its inception, IDA Ireland has spent €11.1m on the Winning Abroad Programme. This comprised an outlay of €437,000 in 2014; €3.86 million in 2015; €3.86 million again in 2016; and €2.93 million in 2017.
The initiative has had a very positive impact in terms of job creation since its implementation, with a total of 3242 jobs having already been created. Moreover, the IDA expects the Winning Abroad Programme to have helped create 14,000 new jobs over the wider period between 2014-2019. This is considerably ahead of the target of 10,000 jobs that was originally set by the Agency for this initiative.
Another positive feature of Winning Abroad is that the jobs that are being created by the Programme are spread across a range of sectors. This includes areas such as life sciences, technology, digital media services, and financial services. To date team members hired under the Winning Abroad Programme have contributed strongly to the Agency’s overall results in these sectors, winning 140 investments in total.
The excellent value for money represented by the Winning Abroad Programme is not just measured in jobs created or investments won. Projects associated with the Programme have also made a significant overall contribution to the Irish economy, with those secured to date contributing €160 million in payroll, €61.7 million of which has been returned to the Exchequer through taxes. These figures are expected to increase even further over the time ahead.
In light of the excellent performance - and the value for money delivered - by the Winning Abroad initiative, it was decided earlier this year to place it on a permanent footing through the regularisation of its 35 posts within IDA Ireland. This will ensure that our economy continues to benefit from the increased stream of investment and job creation that the programme has helped bring to Ireland. It will also help provide the Agency with human resources it requires in the time ahead to seek and secure new investment opportunities abroad and to address the challenges and opportunities associated with Brexit.
The IDA is now better equipped in staffing terms than ever before. The Winning Abroad Programme has boosted the IDA’s permanent headcount by over 12%. This was in addition to the 10 additional Brexit posts that were sanctioned for the IDA as part of last year's budget. I am pleased that an additional €700,000 in funding via Budget 2018 is now being provided so that the Agency can engage 10 more personnel to respond to the challenges and opportunities associated with Brexit. I am therefore confident that IDA Ireland will remain capable of competing for and winning new foreign direct investment for the country.
