Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 April 2012
38 Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the actions he has taken to replace competition with co-operation with the north for foreign direct investment to benefit all the people of the island. [20890/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn the context of regional and all-island economic development, and recognising the opportunity to pursue mutually beneficial cross border co-operation on aspects of economic policy and infrastructure/spatial planning, IDA Ireland cooperates on a number of initiatives with Invest Northern Ireland. Both agencies also share a strategic focus on attracting companies from the targeted sectors of ICT, Financial Services and Clean technologies.
IDA Ireland and Invest NI have jointly developed the North West Business and Technology Zone (NWBTZ). The fundamental aim has been to capitalise on the combined strengths of Letterkenny and Derry City as an economic corridor, to develop compatible infrastructure and property solutions, which are now in place, and to make the region more attractive for investment. Overall, the joint project has drawn down €10 million in EU Interreg IIIA funding (IDA €4M and Invest NI €6M) towards the development of cross border property solutions and research facilities.
The initiative has provided the catalyst for Eircom, Bytel and BT to invest independently in the telecoms infrastructure between Letterkenny and Derry. Also, work undertaken by IDA and INI has led to the development of Project Kelvin, which is the first direct International Communications link of its kind into the North West of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Another objective of the NWBTZ has been the facilitation of greater interaction between Third Level Institutions and Industry in the Letterkenny-Derry corridor in areas such as Collaborative R&D and Industry relevant training programmes in sectors of strategic interest to both Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The economies of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland both have a highly educated workforce and IDA Ireland highlights this competitive advantage to perspective investors. IDA Ireland's target is to ensure that 50% of FDI projects secured between 2010 and 2014 will be located outside of Dublin and Cork. The education and skills of the catchment area of a region is vital to the success of this strategic target. The skills pool available, both north and south of the Border, is presented to potential investors as a key competitive advantage of investing in the Border region on the island of Ireland. Up to 15% of IDA supported companies in the Border region employ staff living in Northern Ireland, increasing employment and prosperity in areas north of the Border. A recent example of this is PayPal who chose to invest in Dundalk based on the pool of skilled staff it could recruit from the large catchment area incorporating both sides of the Border.
