Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 June 2023
231. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which his plans to encourage an even dispersal of investment throughout rural Ireland are on target, given the necessity to achieve an evenly based balanced economy with equal opportunities throughout; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31963/23]
View answerBalanced regional enterprise development continues to be a key policy for me and this Government, and is reaffirmed in the Department’s White Paper on Enterprise.
The Department contributes to this agenda in several ways.
The Regional Enterprise Plans (REPs) are bottom-up plans which facilitate stakeholders to work collaboratively to identify growth opportunities, recognise vulnerabilities, and in response strengthen the regional enterprise ecosystem. Each REP is unique and is underpinned by an understanding of the local strengths and assets in each region. At a regional level, implementation of the REPs is overseen and monitored by a regional Steering Committee which is chaired by a senior level private sector businessperson. The Steering Committee includes the Local Authorities, the enterprise agencies, local enterprise offices, regional skills forum and education and training institutes in each region.
With a strong focus on innovation, digitalisation, sustainability and regional development, Enterprise Ireland continues to make a significant contribution to balanced regional development. I can report that according to the most recent data, over 218,000 people now work in Enterprise Ireland client companies, with 64% of new jobs growth occurring outside of Dublin, with the total EI supported jobs outside of Dublin now at 68%. There was employment growth in all regions, with the West and South-East regions experiencing the highest growth rates.
Regional development also remains a top priority for IDA Ireland. As part of IDA Ireland’s strategy, half of all investments to the end of 2024 are to go to regional locations outside Dublin. IDA Ireland won 242 investments in 2022 of which 52%, or 127 projects, went to regional locations. Employment in IDA client companies grew in every region of the country, with the Midlands region showing growth of 10.5% over the previous year. These record figures demonstrate the scale of the contribution of FDI to Ireland and the role inward investment continues to play in providing jobs and opportunity for people across this island.
With regard to the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs), my Department allocates funding to the Enterprise Ireland LEO Centre of Excellence to provide for LEO grant assistance (Measure 1) and for management capability, training and development programmes (Measure 2). The LEO budget is dispersed to each of the 31 LEOs based on their Local Authority banding.
In addition to this, 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, competitiveness and productivity. Without such infrastructure, Ireland’s international reputation as a good place to do business will be significantly negatively impacted.
The National Development Plan provides the funding to develop Ireland’s infrastructure and the key now is to accelerate delivery and ensure that investment aligns with the needs of enterprise to support balanced economic development across Ireland and to maintain Ireland’s attractiveness as a place to do business. In March this year Minister Donohoe 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.
