Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 March 2025
337. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the work of the IDA in the northwest from 2016 to date, including its cooperation with Invest NI to promote investment and job creation in the cross-Border region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9263/25]
View answerRegional development is a key element of Ireland’s enterprise policy, as set out in the Government’s White Paper on Enterprise and is a key focus of the work of my Department and our Agencies. In that regard, under its new strategy, Adapt Intelligently: A Strategy for Sustainable Growth and Innovation 2025-2029, IDA Ireland is targeting over half of all investments to regional locations. This strategy, which I launched last month, aims to secure 1,000 new investments, 550 in the regions; create 75,000 new jobs; and upskill 40,000 people within the IDA client base during its lifetime.
From the IDA employment and investment perspectives, the North-West Region comprises of counties Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim while the Border Region also includes Cavan and Monaghan. In this regard, there are 55 IDA client companies in the North-West Region employing over 9,000 people across Life Sciences, Engineering, International Financial Services, Content, Consumer & Business Services and Technology. Employment has increased by over 35% in since 2016. Furthermore, in the past two years, IDA client companies announced over 1,400 jobs for the region and six investments involving 830 jobs were announced for Donegal, including 4 first-time investments to the county.
IDA client-company and related employment data for the North-West Region since 2016 is as follows:
|
North West region |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
|
No. of Companies |
45 |
45 |
45 |
50 |
50 |
52 |
57 |
57 |
55 |
|
Total Jobs |
6,718 |
7,095 |
7,436 |
8,043 |
7,977 |
7,136 |
8,756 |
8,937 |
9,181 |
For the Border Region, there are 72 IDA client companies employing 10,389 people and the FDI performance in the Region over the past five years has seen employment among IDA clients increasing by 12%. The Border Region also has a significant ecosystem of well-established companies across Life Sciences, Engineering, International Financial Services, Content, Consumer & Business Services and Technology. Key IDA client companies in the region include Abbott, Vertiv (E&I Engineering), Optum, Freudenberg Medical (VistaMed), AbbVie, Phillips Medisize, TCS, Wellman International, Saint Gobain, Boxmore, Gem Plastics, MDS International, Volumetric Building Companies and Ex-Cel Plastics.
The following table sets out the number of IDA Clients and employment in the Border Region by County in 2024.
|
County |
No. of Companies |
Total Employment |
|
Donegal |
21 |
5,196 |
|
Leitrim |
4 |
1,083 |
|
Sligo |
30 |
2,902 |
|
Cavan |
10 |
950 |
|
Monaghan |
7 |
258 |
|
Total |
72 |
10,389 |
Government and IDA Ireland remain committed to promoting the North-West as a key location for foreign direct investment. The agency continues to work with industry partners, and local stakeholders, to further enhance the region’s economic prospects, ensuring a strong pipeline of investment opportunities that drive sustainable job creation. In this context, the IDA promotes cross border collaboration and engages with a range of stakeholders, including counterparts in Invest NI, to maximise the value proposition of the Border Region in terms of scale and attractiveness.
IDA recently engaged on a joint all-Ireland trade mission with Invest NI and Enterprise Ireland to Singapore in November 2024. Both IDA Ireland and Invest NI are strategic partners of the Dublin Belfast Economic Corridor (DBEC) which promotes closer collaboration to strengthen the area in terms of skills, infrastructure and sustainability between the island's two biggest cities, Dublin and Belfast. The IDA has also supported two North West City Region ‘Gateway to Growth’ investment events in recent years, one held in Dublin in October 2022, where IDA were on a panel alongside Invest NI and clients from both agencies and another held in the Irish Embassy in London in December 2024.
Further, IDA’s US and North-West teams have participated in the Golden Bridges annual event in Boston that aims to strengthen the connections between the North-West City Region of Ireland and the Boston area, showcasing the North-West to an audience of influential Irish American business and political leaders.
IDA Ireland is also a brand ambassador for the Fintech Corridor, a cross border Fintech Network made up of industry, public bodies and academia in both jurisdictions. The Fintech Corridor is focused on developing partnerships and positioning the Dublin-to-Belfast Region as an attractive and accessible location for Fintech on the Island and as a gateway for Fintech companies to Europe, whilst connecting EU & UK Fintech.
Finally, IDA is also engaged with the European Employment Service (EURES) Ireland/Northern Ireland Cross-Border Partnership providing information required by people moving across the border, for example, information on employment and training opportunities on both sides of the border, on taxation and the social security systems to assist employers by providing them with access to a larger talent pool.
