Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 October 2012
125. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Jobs; Enterprise and Innovation the way that he can stand over a situation whereby €69 million, which was earmarked for job creation here, was not actually spent on job creation. [43576/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department and its Agencies are extremely diligent and careful in their management and allocation of taxpayer monies in the support of different enterprise objective. The drawdown of exchequer monies through the Enterprise Development Agencies of my Department is based on commitments made in a given year and projected draw-downs against those commitments in the year in question. It must be remembered that drawdown of exchequer financial support by companies or other bodies (e.g. Competency Centres) is demand-led and can only take place if the company or body in question has progressed a given project in line with the agreement entered into with the State at the time of the financial commitment.
Due to this demand-led nature of grant payments and issues relating to the timing of expenditure, the bulk of an allocation is often drawn down in the last quarter of the year. It is expected therefore, that the snapshot figure referred to in the Question, will not be reflected in the end of year figure. One example is the new Microfinance Scheme that I launched on 27 September, which is now open for business and will have an associated Exchequer expenditure of €10m before year end.
In addition, there are other timing issues around finalising legal agreements with the private sector when setting up funds, for example under the Innovation Fund initiative, which means that while drawdown will take place, it may be pushed back by some months, thereby showing up as an “underspend” in a particular accounting period.
Despite the very difficult domestic and external economic environment, we are beginning to see the positive impact of the Government’s policies. 2011 saw an increase of 6,000 jobs in IDA-supported companies, compared with net losses of 15,000 jobs between 2008 and 2010. So far this year, the IDA has announced investments with the potential to create more than 6,000 further jobs as these projects come on stream. IDA allocation for Capital Grants for the year 2012 is €85m. The IDA has assured me that they will draw down their entire grant allocation before the end of 2012.
Jobs in Enterprise Ireland companies started to grow again in 2011, for the first time in three years. In the first eight months of 2012, a total of 4,669 job commitments over the next three years, linked to Enterprise Ireland approvals to client companies, have been secured. Yesterday, the Kerry Group announced the establishment of an industry-leading Global Technology and Innovation Centre in Ireland. This €100m investment will create 800 jobs over the next four years, as well as 400 jobs in the construction phase, which will be part-funded by my Department through Enterprise Ireland. Job creation is at the core of this Government’s policies and the evidence to date in 2012, despite a challenging external environment, is that it will be a strong year for agency outputs in terms of job creation and exports.
