Written Answers. - Dublin Area Promotion.
Ivor Callely
Ceist:
60
Mr. Callely
asked the
Minister for Enterprise and Employment
the way in which Dublin is being promoted as a centre for business and related developments by his Department or the State agencies under the aegis of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[9994/96]
There are four county enterprise boards in the greater Dublin area, viz. Dublin City Enterprise Board, Fingal (Dublin North) County Enterprise Board, South Dublin County Enterprise Board and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Enterprise Board.
The boards have each completed a three-year enterprise plan and are extremely active in the promotion of new small business in their areas of operation. By the end of 1995, almost 400 projects worth over £4 million in grants had been approved by the four Dublin city and county enterprise boards. By the end of 1995, grants worth almost £2.5 million had been drawn down by the four boards and over 650 jobs had been created, according to figusers supplied by the boards. The strong performance of the Dublin boards continues with a further 43 projects approved for grant assistance of almost £450,000 to date in 1996.
The Dublin county enterprise boards are also active in the promotion of indirect enterprise supports, including the provision of advice, information and mentoring. Among the initiatives being supported is the Plato programme in south Dublin, primarily a business training and networking project whereby local owner-managers are encouraged to learn from one another and from the advice of local large enterprises, which act as the facilitators of small working groups. The boards are also actively involved in the provision of management training in small businesses and micro-enterprises.
The Government has also decided in principle to locate a science and technology park at the Citywest site in Dublin. A detailed feasibility study of the project between the developer, the universities and an expert group, chaired by Forfás, indicated that a science park project at Citywest is feasible subject to a workable detailed project proposal. A proposal has been put to the universities and Citywest outlining a broad framework under which proposals from Citywest and the universities could be advanced.
The software industry is expected to grow to 20,000 employees by the year 2000. Most of these companies are based in the Dublin area and Forbairt is working closely with them to help them develop their full potential to contribute to employment creation in Dublin. In February I announced the creation of 1,084 jobs in 80 new and expanding Irish international service companies. Over 50 of these companies are based in Dublin and together they will create almost 600 new jobs in the Dublin area.
Forbairt is fully committed to a programme of regional development and has built this into its own operating structures. It has set up a new office in Dublin to concentrate specifically on the region. The organisation works closely with all other agencies, local groups, enterprise associations, community development organisations etc. and has committed substantial time and resources to supporting these groups. In addition, in the Dublin region, Forbairt has appointed two area managers — north and south — specifically to coordinate the organisation's support for community development activities.
Dublin based companies are also fully involved in initiatives by Forbairt to support Irish companies to develop international business partnerships. These partnerships offer unique opportunities for Irish companies to increase their sales, build their capability and push into new export markets. The establishment of good business partnership and ongoing development of similar links has been a key factor in the growth of many successful companies. Forbairt operates a technology transfer and partnership programme to support companies in developing these partnerships and is also involved in a number of specific initiatives to promote business partnerships between Irish and North American companies.
The third-level sector is a source of significant scientific and industrial knowledge and potential industrial projects. In the Dublin region, Forbairt works closely with the sector through funding schemes for postgraduate students and support for scientific research projects. Forbairt operates a scheme to develop centres of excellence in the colleges, notably the regional technical colleges and the Dublin Institute of Technology. The organisation has also introduced a new initiative, the campus companies programme, to assist individuals interested in commercialising research and development on the college campus.
The national linkage programme which is aimed at increasing the level of business linkages and networks between Irish and overseas companies in Ireland and with developing the scale and capability of the Irish sub-supply sector is also operated on a more localised regional basis, specifically to address the needs of small supply companies at regional level. In Dublin, resources have been allocated to work with companies in the region which can benefit from this business and an executive has been appointed with exclusive responsibility to focus on promoting increased business linkages for Dublin companies.
The Dublin area has received significant investment from IDA Ireland's activities for many years. The results of this activity can be seen from the direct employment numbers in IDA client companies located in Dublin, and the exceptional growth of these businesses over the past five years: in 1990, there were 299 IDA assisted overseas companies employing a total workforce of 17,900; in 1995 there were 422 IDA assisted overseas companies employing 23,500 people. During that five year period, a considerable number of jobs were created in service and supply businesses in the Dublin area, stimulated by the rapid increase in IDA client company requirements.
Since the beginning of this year, another 2,475 jobs have been announced in IDA supported projects for the Dublin area. These jobs will be spread across the area in a wide variety of businesses in both new inward investments and existing businesses. Deputies will be aware of the very welcome recent announcement that Gateway 2000, the American computer company, is to create 1,200 jobs in north Dublin over the next three years.
To continue to attract growth and development, the IDA has some 200 acres of developed sites in a selection of locations across the area and the private sector and local authorities have also significant land resources. However, the take up of this landbank is growing rapidly and considerable expense and effort must be maintained to ensure an ongoing supply for future needs.
In addition, several advance factories are available and others are in the course of construction in the area. As with the landbank, the IDA seeks to ensure that approximately 100,000 — 200,000 sq ft of space is continuously available to facilitate new investment at all times.
