Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 February 2018
38. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation her plans to minimise the impact of Brexit in County Donegal; the engagement she has had with the IDA and Enterprise Ireland to ensure they secure new investment in the county in view of Brexit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5761/18]
View answerComing from a Border county, the Minister knows the potential difficulty that Brexit poses for employment and the economy in Border counties if it does not work out well. That is even more so the case in County Donegal, which is probably the most exposed region of Europe to Brexit and therefore needs every prioritisation from the Government in order to address that situation.
We might get through two further questions if we stick within the time limits.
I thank Deputy McConalogue for raising this issue. He is right, in that I am conscious of the challenges that Brexit will present in the Border region. I appreciate the importance of ensuring that Irish businesses, including those located in Donegal, are best able to withstand the pressures that Brexit may exert. That is why additional financial resources have been secured to support the strategic response to Brexit by our enterprise agencies, including IDA Ireland.
Brexit, or more particularly the response to the challenges that it presents, is a key factor in shaping IDA Ireland's strategy and operations. This includes the agency's approach to regional development, finance, planning, marketing and promotional activities. The IDA has established a specific Brexit committee to oversee its response to the opportunities and challenges arising from the UK's exit from the EU. The agency also has a clear Brexit plan, including one-to-one investor engagements and public relations and media campaigns.
I am conscious of the particular trade implications that Brexit may have for Border counties such as Donegal, where 12 IDA client companies employing 3,389 people are based. I am pleased that the level of employment by multinationals in the county has increased by 52% since 2012. Enterprise Ireland has also grown its jobs numbers in the county, with 3,552 people now employed in client companies of Enterprise Ireland in Donegal, up from 3,420 last year. Enterprise Ireland and the IDA maintain constant engagement with their clients in Donegal to encourage them to grow jobs and investments there even further. The local enterprise offices and InterTradeIreland are also working hard to mitigate against the impacts of Brexit.
More broadly, the north east-north west Action Plan for Jobs is the key policy response for supporting employment growth in the Border region, including Donegal.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
I am pleased that good progress is being made under the plan, with 12,000 more people in work in the region since its launch in early 2015.
Key to supporting the regional action plans is Enterprise Ireland's €60 million regional enterprise development fund, which provides financial support for regional projects. Last December, I announced the results of the first call under this fund, with 21 projects across all regions receiving a total of €30.5 million. The second call will be announced in March. Three projects in the Border region secured funding under the first call, including a digital innovation hub in Donegal.
The implications of the Brexit vote and the challenges and opportunities that the decision poses for all Irish regions, including the Border, continue to be considered by all regional Action Plan for Jobs implementation committees and are a focus of all the enterprise agencies under my Department's remit.
I thank the Minister for her response. That there are more than 3,000 IDA client company jobs in Letterkenny shows what a good place Donegal can be in which to do business.
It is a phenomenal number of jobs in IDA-supported companies, and those companies have been growing in recent years. They include SITA, Pramerica, Optum and Kirchoff, to name a small number of those which are continuing to employ many people. In many cases they are increasing employment numbers.
The problem has been with new client companies coming to the area. Those that come can prosper but the Minister must ensure that through work with IDA Ireland and agencies, we can see new client companies come in that can build and grow into the future. Until the end of last year, there were only two new client visits to the county from a total of over 600 nationally. That is simply not good enough and the Minister must address it. Will the Minister take action to engage with IDA Ireland to try to ensure this can be improved drastically?
It is important to remember that site visit activity does not necessarily reflect investment potential. At least 70% of all new foreign direct investment comes from existing IDA Ireland client companies. Donegal is now home to 12 IDA Ireland companies, employing 3,389 people. If one comes from Cavan and Monaghan, like Deputy Brendan Smith and me, one would be very envious. The figure for employment is a 52% increase since 2012. Recent investments announced from IDA Ireland companies based in Donegal included the opening of a new SITA premises in Letterkenny; Optibelt Urethane Belting Limited moving to a new premises in Letterkenny, with associated capital investment of €7.7 million over five years; and the expansion of Pramerica, with the creation of 330 new jobs. As the Deputy states, two site visits took place in Donegal. IDA Ireland continues to do its utmost to encourage clients to locate in areas most in need of investment. I am very conscious that the Border region is lagging behind other regions. I will certainly work closely with IDA Ireland to ensure a focus on the Border region, which will see the most impact from Brexit. I am very conscious of that.
The Minister is correct as SITA, Optibelt and Pramerica all have fine new premises. They are growing the work force and have tremendous workers and executives, driving those companies forward with the assistance of IDA Ireland. The Minister correctly points out that 70% of additional workers and employment comes from existing companies. Those companies would not be in Donegal if they had not come a number of years ago. They are doing very well and it shows they can thrive. Letterkenny is a great town and Donegal is a great place to work. We also need to see throughput and a new pipeline of companies but that is simply not happening. It is where the Government is falling down. If we want to see new companies growing into the future, they must come in the first place and there must be site visits. That is not happening and as I said two from 682 site visits last year went to Donegal. Of the total, 80% of visits went to Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway. We need to see this addressed and I ask the Minister to ensure there is prioritisation, particularly in light of Brexit, in attracting new companies as well as supporting those who are there already.
I said earlier that many companies looking at Ireland for potential investment do much of the research themselves. They have looked at the different areas and they want to see what suits them best. I assure the Deputy that IDA Ireland is doing everything it can to get investors into the regions. It has a target of between 30% and 40% of all investment being in the regions.
I am very conscious of the Border region, as I mentioned. I recently met with personnel dealing with Cavan, Monaghan, Louth and Meath, in the north-east region of our regional action plan. I intend to meet personnel from Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim in the coming weeks to see how we can work together. Officials from my Department, IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland attended the meeting and I intend to do the same with the upcoming meeting very shortly.
