Written Answers Nos. 167-176
170. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which he and his Department continue to ensure a steady supply of investment resulting in jobs in various areas and regions throughout the country, with a view to alleviating road traffic pressure and pressure on other services in the Greater Dublin Area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22327/23]
View answerOne of my Department’s priorities is to create employment and facilitate economic development across Ireland. A balanced flow of investment into the country is key in achieving this aim, and our performance is strong. At the end of last year, numbers directly employed in the multinational sector in Ireland reached 301,475, the highest FDI employment level ever, with employment growth right across the country. Over half of the 242 investments won in 2022 went to locations outside Dublin.
Government is working to ensure that investment in infrastructure aligns with enterprise needs and continues to benefit the whole country. This is reflected in the Government’s White Paper on Enterprise, which includes regional targets seeking to ensure that unemployment does not exceed one percentage point of the national unemployment rate in any region, and that at least half of all new FDI investments from 2021-2024 are located outside of Dublin.
To attract investment across Ireland, potential investors must be able to access high quality, reliable and competitively priced infrastructure. The White Paper on Enterprise specifically identifies the importance of addressing infrastructure gaps and enhancing the carrying capacity of the economy to sustain economic growth and competitiveness.
IDA Ireland’s current strategy, Driving Recovery And Sustainable Growth 2021-2024, contains a commitment to deliver 19 Advanced Building Solutions in 15 regional locations throughout Ireland under the Regional Building programme. The programme is progressing well, with the completion of 8 of the 19 properties as of Q2 2023.
This work is all grounded in policies set out by The White Paper on Enterprise, Project Ireland 2040, and the National Development Plan (NDP). The NDP provides the funding to develop infrastructure across Ireland to support economic growth. Accelerating delivery to support balanced economic development across the country remains key and Minister Donohoe recently announced a number of actions aimed at enhancing project delivery for the NDP, and my Department will continue to engage across Government to support delivery for enterprise and quality employment.
171. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which job creation in manufacturing and the service areas continues throughout County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22328/23]
View answer172. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which he continues to remain satisfied that job creation continues as required in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22329/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 171 and 172 together.
My Department’s Statement of Strategy sets out a vision of making Ireland the best place to succeed in business in all parts of our country, with vibrant enterprises, more high-quality employment, growing trade, fair workplaces and higher productivity.
The past two years have seen strong employment growth and my Department, through its Agencies, is committed to providing continued supports to assistant job creation throughout the regions.
Enterprise Ireland saw the creation of 597 new jobs by Enterprise Ireland client companies in Kildare in 2022. The jobs growth translates into a net increase of 184 jobs created in the county in 2022.
Enterprise Ireland companies now employ 9,270 people in 155 companies in County Kildare, an increase of just over 2% on the 2021 outturn.
Powering the Regions, is Enterprise Ireland’s response to recent Government Regional Initiatives. It provides an overarching national plan underpinned by nine regional specific plans, to grow and sustain jobs, and to expand the reach of the Enterprise Ireland client base in every county and region in Ireland.
The Mid-East Regional Plan to 2024 identifies strategic objectives and actions to be undertaken in County Kildare as follows:
- Development of the Athy Food, Drink & Skills Innovation Hub which will unlock the potential of a vacant historic resource – the old Model School to provide a state-of-the-art place to work, connect and train.
- The Mid-East Regional Innovation Think Space (MERITS) in Naas, Co Kildare is now open, providing an on-demand learning environment for entrepreneurs across multiple sectors. Supported by Enterprise Ireland under the Regional Enterprise Development Fund, the completed centre will provide space for over 100 technology workers.
- Establish the first National Equine Innovation Centre in Ireland at the Irish National Stud in Kildare transforming the old National Stud Museum into an equine innovation centre jointly funded by Kildare Leader Partnership and Kildare County Council.
- Develop programmes and training for the equine sector and the possible expansion of the Equine Innovation Centre
- Conduct a feasibility study for the development of a regional green technology enterprise hub to provide training on low carbon transitioning, circular economy and green opportunities.
- The development of a green investment and enterprise zone in Allenwood Co Kildare where ACDAL has secured Just Transition funding to develop serviced sites for up to 16 new / relocating green manufacturing and service enterprises with potential to create 160 new jobs on this former ESB/Bord na Mona site.
Regional development is also at the centre of the IDA’s strategy. The IDA is committed to the pursuit of more balanced, compact regional development which can deliver complementary efficiency and equity gains, with the overall impact of helping to advance national development. IDA will target half of all investments (400) from 2021- 2024 to regional locations and maintain the same high level of investment as targeted in IDA’s previous strategy for each region of the country.
There are 113 IDA client companies in the Mid-East Region (Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow), employing 21,861 people of which 39 are in Kildare and employ approximately 12,174 people. There has been a 25% increase year on year in the numbers employed in Kildare in FDI in 2022.
Recent announcements in Kildare include in November a €28M investment by Lufthansa Technik Turbine Shannon, the Irish subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik AG in Celbridge, Co Kildare. The new custom-built operation already employs 30 highly skilled personnel, with plans to more than double this number to 65 within the next two years, as the business grows. Diageo announced in July plans to invest €200 million in Ireland’s first purpose-built carbon neutral brewery on a greenfield site in Newbridge, Co. Kildare. This will involve 1,000 jobs being created during the construction of the site, and 50 once built.
The FDI performance in the region has been consistent over the past five years with employment among IDA clients increasing by 30%. Counties in the Mid-East also benefit hugely from the direct and indirect employment generated by IDA client companies located in Dublin. The Mid-East has a significant ecosystem of well-established companies across Technology, Life Sciences, International Financial Services and Engineering & Industrial Technologies. It has also won significant investment in the Food and the Film sub-sectors.
In addition, the Local Enterprise Office in Kildare assist entrepreneurs and business owners and managers through its business advisors, training and development programmes and mentoring support. They also provide grant assistance to small businesses operating in the Manufacturing and internationally traded services sectors to enable them to start-up and grow.
Clients of the Local Enterprise Office in Kildare have contributed the following jobs growth figures for the past 2 years:
|
Gross Gains - 2021 |
Net Gains - 2021 |
Gross Gains - 2022 |
Net Gains - 2022 |
|
254 |
29 |
284 |
148 |
173. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which he and his Department continue to press for continued support and incentives via foreign direct investment and indigenously in respect of both manufacturing and the services sectors in this country, North and South; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22330/23]
View answer174. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which this country continues to compete satisfactorily in respect of job creation in the manufacturing and services sectors vis-à-vis others in the Eurozone and without, and third countries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22331/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 173 and 174 together.
Promoting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and supporting our Irish-owned firms are central elements of the White Paper on Enterprise which was launched last December. In particular, the White Paper includes a regional target of unemployment not exceeding one percentage point of the national unemployment rate in any region.
The continued promotion of FDI and indigenous enterprise in Ireland is further supported by the Economic Recovery Plan and the Trade and Investment Strategy 2022-2026: Value for Ireland, Values for the World. Key priorities set out by that Strategy focus on the promotion of Ireland’s investment ecosystem and reaping the benefits of the EU Single Market.
As part of Government’s Shared Island initiative, we will continue to pursue opportunities for North/South co-operation to enhance the investment proposition of the island as a whole and in the border region. This includes collaboration on research and innovation, skills, transport connectivity, renewable energy, and the development of sectoral ecosystems across both jurisdictions.
FDI plays a significant role in Ireland’s economy and the flow of investment into the country is strong. Numbers directly employed in the multinational sector in Ireland reached 301,475 at the end of 2022, the highest FDI employment level ever, and a 9% increase on 2021. Employment growth was achieved right across the country, with over half of the 242 investments won in 2022 going to regions outside Dublin. These record results demonstrate not only the resilience of the FDI sector in Ireland, but also the strength of Ireland’s value proposition and attractive business environment, which enables global companies to successfully invest and expand in Ireland.
Government recognises that there is strong global competition for FDI, and the IDA closely monitors competitor locations and the value propositions they offer. Published reports from subject matter experts including EY and FDI Markets indicate the top performing countries in Europe for FDI attraction and Ireland features prominently in these rankings, typically alongside far larger countries including the UK, Germany, Spain, France, and Poland.
Factors which enhance Ireland’s attractiveness to foreign investors include our pro-enterprise policy environment, our highly educated and English-speaking workforce, as well as our membership of the European Union. IDA Ireland, with the support of my Department, continues to work closely with international clients, from a range of sectors, to attract job-rich investment from overseas firms. Nonetheless, we are not complacent, and the White Paper on Enterprise has set out a number of the key challenges faced by both FDI and Irish-owned enterprise, including the overall carrying capacity of the economy, and identifies the key priorities to be addressed to maintain a strong pro-enterprise and pro-jobs economy.
175. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which efforts continue to ensure the development and growth of enterprise, trade and employment respectively on the island of Ireland, and notwithstanding Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22332/23]
View answerThe growth and development of the all-island economy is one of the lasting effects of the Peace Process. The 25 years of peace that the Good Friday Agreement has brought has provided stability to the people and businesses on our island. This stability has led to a certainty that has allowed businesses on both sides of the border to grow and prosper.
The United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union has presented a generational challenge to the people of our island both North and South. The Windsor Framework, however, marks a positive new chapter in EU-UK relations, allowing us to forge a stronger partnership to address shared global challenges. This new relationship will present us with opportunities to advance further the all-island economy.
InterTradeIreland, the all-island trade and business development body, plays a central role in my Department’s support for the all-island economy. Established under the Good Friday Agreement, the body has been instrumental in helping to grow businesses on the island and to develop their capacity to trade cross-border. To date InterTradeIreland has assisted over 50,000 businesses on the island, created or protected 19,000 new jobs and generated more than €1.6 billion in business development value.
InterTradeIreland has also played a key role in supporting businesses to continue to trade successfully across the island in the post-Brexit trading environment. Its Brexit Advisory Service was an extremely successful programme, with ITI making over 1,800 total approvals over the duration of the scheme, to a total value of more than €7 million. ITI is currently developing a new Trade Information Service that will build on the success of its Advisory Service. They are in the process of finalising this scheme, which will launch later this year.
Another core element of the Government’s efforts towards enhancing cooperation, connection and mutual understanding on our island is the Shared Island initiative. This will be key to unlocking further opportunities in the all-island economy in the years to come. Officials from my Department are continuing to work closely with the Shared Island Unit in the Department of the Taoiseach, as well as our agencies and other relevant stakeholders, to identify ways in which he can further grow and develop the all-island economy.
Strengthening the all-island economy remains a goal of my Department and we will continue to work towards enhancing it and fostering trade and business opportunities both North and South.
176. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education when schools can expect to receive their ICT grant for this year. [22214/23]
View answerThe Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027 was published in April 2022 and builds on the achievements of the previous Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020. It aims to further support the school system so that all students across our schools have the opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills they need to navigate an ever-evolving digital world successfully. The strategy was developed following an extensive consultation process with all relevant stakeholders including students, parents/guardians, teachers and industry and sets out the various supports and resources available to schools in this important area.
The first tranche of funding under the Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027 totaling €50m issued in December 2021, part of the total amount of investment of some €200m committed to support the implementation of the Digital Strategy through the National Development Plan. Under the Digital Strategy for Schools 2027 and subject to the available exchequer funding, and the Departments capital funding requirement, the remaining amount of some €150m will issue over the lifetime of the Digital Strategy for Schools 2027. As with funding under the previous strategy, the funding issued directly to schools as schools are best placed to identify the requirements of their own student cohort and to meet those requirements in the most appropriate way.
I recently announced €29 million in minor works funding for primary and special schools. This funding can be used not only for the maintenance and small-scale improvements to school buildings and grounds but also for the provision of ICT infrastructure in schools.
