Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 December 2018
287. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the degree to which she continues to encourage enterprise and innovation as a means of creating job opportunities throughout rural Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50848/18]
View answerThe Government has laid a solid foundation for businesses, allowing for jobs and growth to flourish while safeguarding against global challenges including Brexit. Innovation is an essential element to maintaining competitiveness, providing jobs and sustaining growth. My Department’s innovation budget for 2019 has been increased by €40m to almost €369m and will fund a range of initiatives and programmes that advance innovation and facilitate opportunities for Irish interests on the European and world stages.
The €500m Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) is being implemented through my Department and its agencies, working with other research funding bodies to develop Ireland’s innovation ecosystem and responsiveness. The fund will see investment in the development and deployment of disruptive innovative technologies and applications, on a commercial basis, targeted at tackling national and global challenges. In 2019, €20m has been allocated to DTIF in Phase 1. Furthermore, an additional allocation of €10m in 2019 has been included as part of the dedicated €100m PhD and Masters training programme through Science Foundation Ireland in areas aligned to enterprise needs.
The Regional Action Plan for Jobs (RAPJ) initiative is a central pillar of the Government’s ambition to create 200,000 new jobs by 2020, 135,000 of which are outside of Dublin. A key objective of the initiative is to have a further 10 to 15 per cent at work in each region by 2020, with the aim of having the unemployment rate of each region within one per cent of the national average.
Since the launch of the Regional Action Plan for Jobs (RAPJ) there has been an increase of 258,800 people in employment across the State since Q1 2015 to Q3 2018, with 163,500 people in the regions outside of Co. Dublin entering employment in that period. That is over 63% - or 3 out of every 5 jobs created – were for regions outside of Co. Dublin (Q1 2015 – Q3 2018).
In the year from Q3 2017 – Q3 2018, just over half (51%) of the jobs created were outside of Co. Dublin.
In April of this year I asked all the RAPJ committees and other regional stakeholders to start a process to Refresh and Refocus all Regional Plans to ensure their relevance and impact out to 2020. The Refresh and Refocus will ensure that the Plans remain effective and that they continue to deliver jobs across the country and can be robust to address the challenges we face, including Brexit.
Yesterday, on 3rd December, I was delighted to announce in Navan just over €29 million in funding by my Department through Enterprise Ireland under Call 2 of the Regional Enterprise Development Fund (REDF). This funding has been awarded to 21 regional projects all around the country, bringing the total amount of funding awarded under the two Calls of this scheme to €60 million across 42 regional projects, in all regions.
Since 2015, IDA Ireland has been working towards regional development targets set out in their strategy for the period between 2015-2019. This includes a goal of increasing investment in every region of Ireland by 30%-40%. Real progress is being made towards that objective. In 2017, for example, 45% of all jobs created were based outside of Dublin. The Agency is working hard to increase that percentage further.
I know the IDA and its staff are working, on a daily basis, to secure new investment and jobs for regional areas. It is encouraging to note, for example, that in the first three quarters of 2018 there were 461 site visits and over half of these visits were to regional locations. This helps show the ongoing efforts being made by the Agency to showcase regional sites to prospective investors.
However, we must remember that the ultimate decision as to where to invest is always taken by the company itself. I understand the focus placed on site visits and it is the case that they represent a useful tool by which the merits of regional locations can be showcased to investors. At the same time, it must be borne in mind that site visit activity does not necessarily reflect investment potential, as almost 70% of all new FDI comes from existing IDA Ireland client companies.
Budget 2019 also saw the Agency allocated an additional €10m for the Regional Property Programme (RPP). This will help ensure that property solutions are in place for overseas companies considering investing or expanding, thereby encouraging more FDI to the regions. The IDA plans to develop new buildings in regional locations including Carlow, Dundalk, Monaghan, Sligo, Athlone, Waterford, Limerick and Galway.
19,332 new jobs were created by Enterprise Ireland backed companies in 2017, with 64% of these jobs created in regions outside of Dublin. There was employment growth in every sector and every county.
In Budget 2019, I allocated an extra €8m to the enterprise agencies and regulatory bodies under my Department, who work with firms at the coalface to develop their supports for business. I allocated an additional €3m to Enterprise Ireland to enhance our Global Footprint. This will help companies to diversify into new markets as the UK leaves the EU. €2.75m will also be allocated to Enterprise Ireland to fund a support programme of Regional Innovation and Technology Clusters.
I have also allocated €1.8m to the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland over 3 years to expand marketing and development programmes to support Irish designers and makers to exhibit at international trade fairs, to develop partnerships with flagship retailers, and to develop e-commerce capacity.
The Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) are the ‘first-stop-shop’ for providing advice, and guidance, financial assistance and soft supports such as training and mentoring to those wishing to start or grow their own business.
The LEOs can offer direct grant aid to microenterprises (10 employees or fewer) in the manufacturing and internationally traded services sectors which, over time, have the potential to develop into strong export entities. Subject to certain eligibility criteria, the LEOs can provide financial assistance within three main categories: Feasibility Grants (investigating the potential of a business idea); Priming Grants (to part-fund a start-up); and Business Development Grants for existing businesses that want to expand.
The LEOs have been allocated an additional €5m for 2019 and this will allow them to focus resources on specific platforms: Building Locally – a proposal to establish a competitive fund to support high quality proposals in that context; Sustaining and Growing Existing Microenterprises – an additional resource with a focus on key clients with growth potential or in need of devising a plan to counteract the impacts of Brexit; Brexit and Customs implications/impacts - training and awareness programmes to support firms throughout the country, in all regions, in the area of both Import and Export customs implications and procedures.
My Department also supports InterTradeIreland (ITI), the cross-border trade and business development body. Funding for ITI is jointly provided by DBEI and our Northern Ireland counterpart, the Department for the Economy. Through its innovation and trade initiatives, ITI helps small businesses in Ireland and Northern Ireland to explore new cross-border markets and develop new products, processes and services which help improve capability as well as driving competitiveness, growth and jobs. With the launch of the Brexit Advisory Service in May 2017, InterTradeIreland is also helping companies to prepare for the UK’s exit from the EU through a range of supports and services. ITI is a small organisation but with a big outreach; to date, the body has assisted over 39,000 companies, created or protected over 14,000 jobs and supported over €1.2bn in additional business development value for small businesses across the island.
To support this important work, my Department will provide an additional €1 million in capital funding to ITI in 2019. This funding will enable the body to engage with more of the companies that are seeking its support through the Brexit Advisory Service, as well as meeting demand for existing programmes which are all designed to promote and support cross-border trade.
