Thursday, 14 Feb 2013

Written Answers Nos. 178-195

Schools Building Projects Status

Ceisteanna (178)

Peadar Tóibín

Ceist:

178. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of schools built in County Meath since 2005; the date on which they were built and the locations of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7934/13]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

A total of twelve new schools were constructed in County Meath during the period 2005 to 2012. The following is the list of the new schools constructed during the period in question: 2005 Roll No 00885T - Ratoath Mixed National School, Ratoath; 2007 Roll No 76088T - Ratoath College, Ratoath; 2008 Roll No 18044T - SN Naomh Padraig, Stamullen; 2009 Roll No 16655P - St Nicholas Primary School, Longwood; 2009 Roll No 18016O - SN Columbain, Ballivor; 2010 Roll No 20216L - Scoil Oilibheir Naofa, Bettystown; 2011 Roll No 20180Q - Scoil Naomh Eoin, Clonmagadden Valley, Windtown, Navan; 2011 Roll No 20215J - St Paul's National School, Ratoath; 2011 Roll No 91517D - Athboy Community School, Athboy; 2012 Roll No 17213L - Scoil Naomh Mhuire, Ma Nealta, Ceannanus Mór; 2012 Roll No 17821L - Scoil Nais Mhuire Naofa, Enfield; 2012 Roll No 76103M - Coláiste Na hInse, Bettystown.

School Accommodation

Ceisteanna (179)

Peadar Tóibín

Ceist:

179. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education and Skills the schools renting prefabs in County Meath; the date on which this commenced and the cost incurred; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7935/13]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

Details of rented prefabs in use in Primary and Post Primary schools in Co Meath, together with rental commencement dates and annual rental cost, is outlined in the following table. Please note that one prefab unit may consist of one or more classrooms and/or ancillary accommodation.

Primary and Post Primary Schools renting prefabs in County Meath - Feb 2013

Roll no	School name	Town	County	Annual rental cost	Date of rental commencement
00883P	St Annes	Navan	Meath	€5,278.59	01/03/04
01309L	St Patricks NS	Navan	Meath	€13,806.41	01/09/00
02905J	SN Naomh Padraig	Baconstown	Meath	€10,937.16	01/09/08
04210H	St Josephs NS (Kilmessan Mxd NS)	Kilmessan	Meath	€6,921.20	01/09/07
05630L	St Michaels NS Trim	Trim	Meath	€29,421.60	01/09/07
11039O	Kilbeg NS	Carlonstown, Kells	Meath	€5,278.59	01/09/00
15104T	Scoil Bhride	Navan	Meath	€17,542.05	01/02/00
16100Q	St Josephs Mercy P.S	Navan	Meath	€37,122.80	01/09/07
-	-	-	-	€32,718.40	01/07/06
17520U	Robinstown NS	Navan	Meath	€20,910.00	30/08/07
-	-	-	-	€21,771.00	01/09/06
17623H	O'Growney NS	Athboy	Meath	€16,949.40	01/09/07
-	-	-	-	€27,918.54	01/09/06
-	-	-	-	€14,071.20	01/09/05
17705J	Whitecross Primary School	Julianstown	Meath	€11,193.00	01/09/11
-	-	-	-	€15,670.20	01/09/08
-	-	-	-	€15,350.40	01/09/07
-	-	-	-	€12,152.40	01/09/06
-	-	-	-	€28,142.40	01/09/05
17839H	Duleek BNS	Duleek	Meath	€13,815.36	01/09/07
-	-	-	-	€12,664.08	01/09/06
17840P	Scoil Bhainin Naofa/Duleek GNS	Duleek	Meath	€27,630.72	01/09/07
18106P	Lismullen NS	Navan	Meath	€26,223.60	01/12/06
-	-	-	-	€14,071.20	01/09/06
18448U	Rathbeggan NS	Dunshaughlin	Meath	€18,868.20	01/09/07
18762D	Realt na Mara BNS	Donacarney	Meath	€18,228.60	01/09/05
-	-	-	-	€25,175.92	01/11/99
18767N	Realt na Mara GNS	Mornington	Meath	€28,462.50	19/06/11
-	-	-	-	€57,244.20	01/09/08
-	-	-	-	€61,762.00	01/09/07
19560T	Saint Marys Special School	Navan	Meath	€16,981.38	27/08/07
-	-	-	-	€14,391.00	01/05/06
19768U	St Marys NS	Asbourne	Meath	€12,664.08	01/09/06
20032B	Dunboyne Junior School	Dunboyne	Meath	€31,340.40	01/09/06
20033D	Dunboyne Senior Primary School	Dunboyne	Meath	€15,990.00	01/09/07
-	-	-	-	€8,954.40	20/03/07
-	-	-	-	€15,670.20	01/09/06
20082Q	Gaelscoil Thulach na nOg	Dun Buinne	Meath	€15,369.59	01/09/08
20164S	Navan Educate Together NS	Navan	Meath	€51,577.34	01/09/08
20179I	St. Stephen's National School	Navan	Meath	€57,564.00	01/08/12
20191V	St Peters National School, Church Of Ireland	Dunboyne	Meath	€16,299.96	01/09/08
-	-	-	-	€12,782.16	01/09/07
-	-	-	-	€12,782.16	01/09/06
-	-	-	-	€12,782.16	01/09/05
-	-	-	-	€25,092.00	01/09/04
20200T	Ratoath Senior NS	Ratoath	Meath	€34,056.00	01/09/07
20352T	Ard Ri Community NS	Navan	Meath	€63,960.00	01/09/12
20396Q	Ashbourne Educate Together NS	Ashoubrne	Meath	€63,320.40	01/09/12
91508C	Boyne Community School	Trim	Meath	€18,868.20	07/01/08

Schools Building Projects Status

Ceisteanna (180)

Peadar Tóibín

Ceist:

180. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the following school building projects (details supplied) in County Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7940/13]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

I wish to advise the Deputy that the 5 Year Construction Programme that I announced on 9 March 2012, together with my recent announcement of the 50 school projects which are scheduled for construction in 2013 as part of a €2 billion capital investment programme, outlines the major school projects that will commence construction over the duration of the Plan. The primary aim at the core of the Five Year Plan is focussed on meeting demographic demands to ensure that every child will have access to a physical school place and that our school system is in a position to cope with increasing pupil numbers.

Details of the projects included in the Five Year Plan, including those projects referred to by the Deputy, may be viewed on my Department's website www.education.ie. These details continue to be maintained and updated regularly on the website. The following reflects the current position of the specific school building projects to which the Deputy refers:

SN Mhuire, Ma Nealta Ceannanus Mor - A new 4 classroom school reached substantial completion in 2012. Dunshaughlin Community College - A large scale extension project commenced on site in September 2012.

New 1,000 pupil school in Ashbourne, Gaelscoil na Mí, Ashbourne and a New ET school for Ashbourne - my Department has sought the assistance of, and is working closely with, the relevant Local Authority in relation to identifying and acquiring a suitable sites for the schools. White Cross NS - the project is currently at an early stage 2 of architectural planning. Upon completion of Stage 2(a) and subject to no issues arising, the project will then progress to stage 2(b) which is the final design stage in the architectural planning process and includes the planning application and completion of tender documents.

St Peter's College, Dunboyne and Ratoath Community College – the projects to deliver extensions to the schools were devolved for delivery to Co. Meath VEC. The VEC has appointed a Design Team to each project. The project for St Peter's College is at the early stages of Architectural Planning and Ratoath Community College is at an advanced stage of Architectural Planning.

SN Bheinn Naofa Duleek (Boys and Girls) – the project has been devolved for delivery to the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) and the NDFA has recently appointed a Design Team to advance the project.

Back to School Costs

Ceisteanna (181)

Nicky McFadden

Ceist:

181. Deputy Nicky McFadden asked the Minister for Education and Skills in view of a recent survey which estimates back to school costs at €487 for primary school children and €620 for secondary school students, the practical steps that could be taken to reduce back to school costs, particularly in the areas of school uniforms, books and voluntary contributions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7971/13]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

Tackling the costs associated with school is a major priority of mine and there are practical steps that schools can take to reduce these costs for parents.

One such step is the establishment of Textbook Rental Schemes by schools. I am very much in favour of schools establishing such schemes. Schools that have such rental schemes can save parents up to 80% of the cost of buying new books. Because of this, I launched "Guidelines for Developing Textbook Rental Schemes in Schools" on 28 January 2013. The Guidelines provide practical advice to primary and post-primary schools on how rental schemes can be established and operated.

These Guidelines along with a Guide for Parents to inform them of how the schemes operate and how parents can help schools to establish and run them are currently being sent out to every school in the country and are also available on my Department's website. They were also made available for the websites of both national parents' councils, Barnardos and the society of St Vincent de Paul.

In addition, I received a commitment from the Irish Educational Publishers Association to limit the publication of new editions of textbooks and to maintain editions of books in print, unchanged for at least six years. The publishers have assured me that they would sell books for rental schemes to schools at substantial discounts. Furthermore, I have once again secured protection of the budget for school book grants at €15 million in 2013. I have previously put on the record of this House my support for any measures that can be put in place to reduce uniform costs for parents including measures such as the use of generic type uniforms or the use of "sew on" crests.

I have raised this matter informally with the National Parents Council at primary level and I recommended that the National Parents Councils – Primary and Post Primary mobilise parents associations to raise this issue with school authorities. It is important that schools are sensitive to the financial pressures on parents in making decisions, not just about school uniforms but about any matter that has cost implications for parents. The position in relation to voluntary contributions is that the charging of fees by a school is permissible only in the case of recognised fee-charging second level schools.

All other recognised schools are precluded from charging school fees. Voluntary contributions by parents of pupils in such recognised schools are permissible provided it is made absolutely clear to parents that there is no question of compulsion to pay and that, in making a contribution, they are doing so of their own volition. The manner in which such voluntary contributions are sought and collected is a matter for school management; however their collection should be such as not to create a situation where either parents or pupils could reasonably infer that the contributions take on a compulsory character.

Student Grant Scheme Payments

Ceisteanna (182)

John O'Mahony

Ceist:

182. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will receive a decision on a Student Universal Support Ireland grant appeal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7982/13]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support Ireland that, in the case of the student referred to by the Deputy, a grant has been refused and a letter outlining the position issued on the 3rd December, 2012.

If an individual applicant considers that she/he has been unjustly refused a student grant, she/he may appeal, in the first instance, to SUSI.

Where an individual applicant has had an appeal turned down, in writing, by SUSI, and remains of the view that the scheme has not been interpreted correctly in his/her case, an appeal form outlining the position may be submitted by the applicant to the independent Student Grants Appeals Board.

School Equipment

Ceisteanna (183)

Sandra McLellan

Ceist:

183. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 72 of 7 February 2013, if he will ensure that the school is given back the bandwidth of at least four as it had prior to Christmas when it was reduced from four to one without delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7984/13]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

I wish to advise the Deputy that Kilcredan school has had its broadband restored to 4mb from last week.

Student Grant Scheme Applications

Ceisteanna (184)

Timmy Dooley

Ceist:

184. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a person (details supplied) in County Clare will receive a decision in relation to their Student Universal Support Ireland application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8000/13]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support Ireland, that on 5th February 2013, a request for further documentation was issued to the student referred to by the Deputy. When the requested documentation is returned the student will be notified directly of the outcome.

FÁS Training Programmes Provision

Ceisteanna (185)

Dan Neville

Ceist:

185. Deputy Dan Neville asked the Minister for Education and Skills in relation to the issuing of construction skills certificate scheme and safe pass cards, his views that some work needs to be done in this whole area to ensure that applicants will not have to wait for over 12 months for the cards to be issued as employers will not employ operatives without a valid card; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8006/13]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

This is a day to day operational matter for FAS who are responsible for the management of these schemes. FÁS have informed that they make every effort to process applications for CSCS and Safe Pass registration cards as quickly as possible. As FÁS is not directly involved in the provision of these training programmes there can be delays which are outside of the organisation's control. Delays can also occur in issuing CSCS registration cards due to the legislative requirement for applicants to be in possession of a FETAC certificate. Safe Pass cards are usually dispatched to providers within four to six weeks after completion of the course; this is partly dependant on the provider ensuring that applications and payment are processed without delay.

CSCS cards for new courses are usually dispatched to providers within four months after completion of the course; this is also partly dependant on the provider ensuring that applications are submitted without delay for both the FETAC certificate and registration card. CSCS renewal card applications are normally turned round within three to four weeks.

Bullying in Schools

Ceisteanna (186)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

186. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the alleged bullying of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8020/13]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

I am fully aware of the seriousness of the issue of bullying and it was for that reason that an Anti-Bullying Forum was held in May last year. The Deputy will be aware that I established a working group to address the issue of tackling bullying in schools, including cyber-bullying. The Group produced an Action Plan recommending further measures that can be taken to effectively tackle bullying, including cyber bullying, in schools. I broadly accept the proposed actions in the Action Plan which was published in January. I have asked officials in my Department to commence work on implementing the Action Plan in consultation with teachers, parents and management bodies at first and second-level schools.

My Department's role is to clarify for parents and students how their grievances and complaints against schools can be progressed. Guidance to parents on progressing a concern in relation their child's school is available on my Department's website at www.education.ie. I understand my officials have clarified for the parent of the pupil in question how his complaint should be addressed.

Departmental Expenditure

Ceisteanna (187, 188)

Joan Collins

Ceist:

187. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Education and Skills the total amount spent on outsourced security services in his Department; and if he will provide details of the companies providing these services. [8472/13]

Joan Collins

Ceist:

188. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Education and Skills the total amount spent on outsourced cleaning services in his Department; and if he will provide details of the companies providing these services. [8486/13]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

I propose to take Questions Nos. 187 and 188 together.

My Department spent a total of €506,089.11 on security services and a total of €316,148.81 on cleaning services in 2012. This represents the total expenditure by my Department in 2012 on security and cleaning services provided by private companies (outsourced) for official departmental premises in various locations around the country. These include my Department's main office locations in Dublin, Athlone and Tullamore as well as local and regional premies used by my Department's Inspectorate and the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS). The figures provided reflect the actual net cost to my Department i.e. excluding amounts which were met by other Government Departments/Agencies in respect of shared offices and/or premises. The following is a list of the companies that provide these services.

Security Company	Cleaning Company
ISS Ireland	ECO Group Services
Senaca Group	Evans Cleaning Services
Superior Alarms Ltd	Grosvenor Cleaning Service
Link Security	O'Gorman Contract Cleaners
KR Security Services	Roberts Contract Cleaning
G4S	Noonans
RMS Security	Kyle Cleaning Services
Safe Zone Ltd	Alchemy Hygiene Ltd
Kennedy Security Ltd	Buckley Cleaning Services
S Security Group	ISS Facility Services
Omega Facility Services	AllPro Services
Noonans	Knights Cleaning Services Ltd
Manguard Plus Ltd	P&M Campbell
Alarm Control Centre	Cavan Industrial Cleaning Service
Crimewatch Security Services	Larry Connor Cleaning Services
-	Corbett Complete Cleaning
-	Emerald Facility Service
-	FM Services Group
-	Elite Cleaning Service
-	ABC Cleaning
-	Whelan Cleaning Systems Ltd

Public Sector Reform Implementation

Ceisteanna (189)

Michael Moynihan

Ceist:

189. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the progress he has made with regard to implementing the plan Supporting Public Service Reform - eGovernment 2012 – 2015; in particular the progress he has made on publishing appropriate data in a way that will facilitate re-use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7839/13]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform

Since eGovernment 2012-2015 was launched in April 2012, my Department has been promoting awareness of the content of the Strategy, through bilateral meetings with Public Bodies to agree approaches to progressing and reporting on actions in the Strategy. My Department has also organised a series of events promoting elements of the Strategy, and will arrange further events during 2013. One of these events, co-hosted on 22 November 2012 with Dublinked, focussed on Open Data.

The specific implementation of the actions set out in the Strategy, including publishing appropriate data in a way that will facilitate re-use, are the responsibility of each Department and agency. To facilitate easier reporting by Public Bodies a new website, e.gov.ie, was launched on 23 January 2013. A first progress report under eGovernment 2012-2015 will be submitted to Government by the end of the first quarter of this year. I intend to make this report publicly available.

In advance of the progress report being completed, I am pleased to note that a huge amount of public data is being published and that organisations are actively working to ensure that this data is re-usable.

Examples of how public data is being published and re-used include: the cooperation between the Central Statistics Office and the All-Ireland Research Observatory (AIRO) to provide the public with a new set of mapping tools to allow users to take advantage of the massive amount of census data that is available; the Irish Spatial Data Exchange (ISDE) which allows users to search for data or data services from multiple participating Public Bodies; the National Transport Authority’s Journey Planner which contains all public transport route and timetable information across all public transport providers; the fixyourstreet.ie facility which allows citizens to report faults to their local authorities. An application programming interface (API) is available and is being used by interested groups; and Oireachtas debates are published in both PDF and machine-readable formats.

Garda Stations Refurbishment

Ceisteanna (190)

Nicky McFadden

Ceist:

190. Deputy Nicky McFadden asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the position regarding the proposed new building of the Garda barracks in Athlone, County Westmeath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7963/13]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

Current accommodation occupied by An Garda Síochána in Athlone comprises the original Garda Station, the former adjacent Government Offices and the nearby former Eircom premises. It is intended to carry out a major refurbishment project at this location. In that regard, a significant amount of preparatory work has been completed by the Office of Public Works (OPW) on design and contract documentation. Due to current financial constraints, affecting this and other construction projects, it is not possible at this stage to say when tenders will be invited or when construction works will commence on site. The matter will continue to be reviewed in light of the availability of capital funding in the OPW Vote and the priority attached to the project by An Garda Síochána in the context of its overall building programme.

Separate facilities have been provided for the Garda Water Unit in Athlone.

Upward Only Rent Reviews

Ceisteanna (191)

Peadar Tóibín

Ceist:

191. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the steps he is taking to address the competitive disadvantage of businesses locked into pre-2010 leases that continue to include upward only rent clauses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7815/13]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

The Land Conveyancing and Law Reform Act, 2009, abolished upward-only rent reviews for all new leases signed on or after 28th February 2010. When the Government came into office, it gave extensive consideration to abolishing upward-only rent reviews in leases signed before 28th February 2010.

The advice received by the Government was that it was not possible to develop a scheme to tackle this issue that would not be vulnerable to a Constitutional challenge or compensation claims from landlords. On the basis of this advice, the Government concluded that it was not feasible to legislate to abolish upward only rent reviews.

However, the Government has taken steps to address the issue where possible. In the Action Plan for Jobs 2012, the Government undertook to place downward pressure on commercial rents where the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) had acquired the loan on the underlying property. NAMA approves requests for rent easement or abatement from its debtors where a tenant demonstrates that the rent payable under the lease is in excess of current market levels and that the viability of a business is, as a consequence, threatened.

I understand that by the end of 2012, NAMA had received 276 eligible applications and had granted 212 applications for rent abatement with an aggregate annual value of €13.5 million. A further 56 applications were under review. Of the 276 eligible applications received, only 8 were refused, representing a 97% approval rate by NAMA. NAMA’s Guidance Note on upward only commercial leases is available on the agency’s website, www.nama.ie. The agency engages with industry representative bodies in the retail sector to promote understanding of the Guidance Note and its applicability.

In addition, the Property Services (Regulation) Act, 2011, provides for the establishment and maintenance of a Commercial Leases Database by the Property Services Regulatory Authority, which is expected to capture information in relation to the rent agreed and other clauses within commercial leases agreed in the future. I understand that work is under way to ensure that the database will be operational at an early date. The database will go toward enhancing transparency in the commercial property market.

Businesses can, of course, seek to negotiate a rent reduction directly with their landlord, even where upward only rent reviews exist in leases. There are a number of instances where businesses have secured rent reductions through negotiations of this nature.

Departmental Agencies Expenditure

Ceisteanna (192)

Peadar Tóibín

Ceist:

192. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide the data for total Industrial Development Agency, Enterprise Ireland and County Enterprise Board spend by region since 2007. [7884/13]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Table 1 sets out the grant payments to IDA clients, by Region from 2007 to 2011. The 2012 grant payments are not yet available as they have not been signed off by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Table 2 sets out the payments made by Enterprise Ireland, by Region between January 2007 and December 2012.

Table 3 sets out the funding by the 35 County and City Enterprise Boards from 2007 to 2012.

The figures in all three Tables show Capital expenditure paid out in the form of grant payments.

A breakdown of the counties within each Region is outlined in Table 1 (a) and Table 2 (a).

Table 1: IDA Ireland Grants Paid on a Regional Basis from 2007 to 2011

Regions	North West	West	Mid-West	South West	Midlands
2007	€2,712,400	€8,658,845	€2,367,535	€10,354,690	€1,862,404
2008	€836,217	€13,035,766	€3,343,562	€14,465,108	€1,707,837
2009	€1,835,587	€10,272,311	€6,385,694	€16,734,473	€2,388,917
2010	€3,845,440	€14,142,020	€5,866,962	€20,336,201	€2,691,098
2011	€1,504,986	€15,308,360	€8,645,736	€15,245,281	€2,288,466

Regions	South East Region	East Region	North East Region
2007	€13,928,920	€39,201,479	€348,127
2008	€7,947,182	€37,691,166	€1,245,000
2009	€2,652,596	€39,721,446	€870,882
2010	€19,738,753	€52,440,158	€1,379,552
2011	€5,364,688	€47,712,539	€689,164

Table 1 (a) Breakdown of counties within each IDA Region

North East	North West	Midlands	West	Mid West	South West	South East	East
Cavan	Donegal	Laois	Galway	Clare	Cork	Carlow	Dublin
Louth	Leitrim	Longford	Mayo	Limerick	Kerry	Kilkenny	Kildare
Monaghan	Sligo	Offaly		Tipperary North		Tipp South	Meath
		Roscommon				Waterford	Wicklow
		Westmeath				Wexford

Table 2 - Enterprise Ireland payments by region between January 2007 and December 2012

EI Region	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Dublin/Mid-East	€36,690,184	€43,369,386	€79,513,445	€89,323,896	€56,855,751	€52,749,387
Dublin/Mid-East	€1,881,642	€3,855,955	€12,290,153	€7,439,783	€3,407,037	€1,458,461
Dublin/Mid-East	€1,705,814	€1,417,916	€1,656,731	€5,833,216	€1,709,943	€1,104,888
Dublin/Mid-East	€2,154,455	€3,435,236	€6,135,468	€3,744,924	€1,765,918	€2,149,254
Total Dublin/ Mid-East	€42,432,094	€52,078,495	€99,595,796	€106,341,820	€63,738,649	€57,461,990
Midlands	€1,362,998	€957,987	€1,796,385	€2,289,457	€815,168	€365,316
Midlands	€215,221	€1,715,510	€2,667,185	€1,822,458	€2,825,589	€1,336,632
Midlands	€916,583	€4,649,888	€2,126,116	€2,897,868	€1,434,905	€1,067,722
Midlands	€1,087,255	€1,304,583	€1,856,444	€3,692,457	€1,487,388	€1,035,028
Total Midlands	€3,582,057	€8,627,968	€8,446,129	€10,702,240	€6,563,049	€3,804,697
Mid-West	€1,129,977	€1,566,068	€1,607,533	€3,267,837	€1,110,087	€756,937
Mid-West	€2,298,086	€3,309,800	€7,529,637	€3,370,327	€2,422,961	€701,132
Mid-West	€3,002,041	€5,290,377	€6,610,374	€8,950,439	€4,798,482	€4,725,023
Mid-West	€159,520	€1,870,279	€3,149,246	€3,325,168	€1,458,488	€2,992,853
Total Mid-West	€6,589,625	€12,036,523	€18,896,789	€18,913,771	€9,790,018	€9,175,945
North East/North West	€2,857,971	€2,677,879	€8,048,106	€9,502,264	€3,326,382	€1,723,640
North East/North West	€2,459,251	€3,139,787	€5,050,972	€5,356,821	€2,982,745	€1,684,695
North East/North West	€483,418	€364,163	€990,357	€894,916	€53,869	€364,386
North East/North West	€1,938,040	€2,025,635	€5,784,274	€6,188,317	€2,514,164	€2,962,869
North East/North West	€2,406,270	€2,550,223	€6,168,806	€6,925,838	€2,598,817	€4,078,588
North East/North West	€1,370,676	€1,359,581	€2,444,801	€1,936,955	€1,258,143	€1,189,396
Total  North East/North West	€11,515,626	€12,117,266	€28,487,317	€30,805,112	€12,734,119	€12,003,573
South/South East	€649,559	€1,593,277	€2,527,248	€3,633,385	€1,893,411	€1,615,046
South/South East	€11,685,546	€22,278,449	€30,877,560	€30,014,977	€15,810,633	€24,509,340
South/South East	€1,311,102	€11,196,254	€8,319,062	€6,034,666	€2,244,961	€2,735,305
South/South East	€4,201,955	€1,170,319	€5,297,468	€4,369,000	€3,376,657	€2,582,177
South/South East	€845,734	€2,033,059	€2,744,909	€5,854,330	€2,856,742	€5,646,047
South/South East	€562,739	€2,277,698	€2,877,038	€7,625,455	€3,944,442	€3,869,257
Total South/South East	€19,256,635	€40,549,056	€52,643,285	€57,531,812	€30,126,845	€40,957,173
West	€9,021,843	€9,799,522	€9,918,418	€12,088,266	€5,341,103	€5,260,845
West	€1,317,893	€2,554,254	€8,098,491	€3,956,789	€2,064,362	€1,539,610
West	€705,308	€727,976	€726,874	€2,593,524	€1,240,080	€677,825
Total West	€11,045,044	€13,081,752	€18,743,784	€18,638,579	€8,645,545	€7,478,281

Regions	Midlands	South/South East
2007	€3,582,057	€19,256,635
2008	€8,627,968	€40,549,056
2009	€8,446,129	€52,643,285
2010	€10,702,240	€57,531,812
2011	€6,563,049	€30,126,845
2012	€3,804,697	€40,957,173

Table 2 (a) Breakdown of counties within each EI Region

North East/North West	West	Mid-West	Dublin/ Mid East	Midlands	South/South East
Cavan	Galway	Clare	Dublin	Laois	Carlow
Donegal	Mayo	Kerry	Kildare	Longford	Cork
Leitrim	Roscommon	Limerick	Meath	Offaly	Kilkenny
Louth	-	Tipperary North	Wicklow	Westmeath	Tipperary South
Monaghan	-	-	-	-	Waterford
Sligo	-	-	-	-	Wexford

Table 3 - Funding for the County and City Enterprise Boards from 2007 to 2012

CEB	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Carlow	572,316.44	555,187.44	787,699.42	567,138.70	512,099	642,617
Cavan	688,692.56	644,652.99	566,198.00	498,632.24	410,513	436,892
Clare	620,093.00	572,013.25	660,656.47	446,090.56	580,751	574,374
Cork City	548,052.56	706,083.71	516,788.68	575,803.95	539,672	470,912
Cork North	78,775.68	136,244.00	349,721.00	244,849.89	457,520	258,862
Cork South	917,028.74	898,300.94	994,284.68	851,823.61	952,192	1,329,485
Cork West	499,513.57	651,654.53	595,365.15	526,538.05	400,406	545,237
Donegal	1,068,715.25	1,126,293.55	838,737.52	756,557.15	663,898	800,945
Dublin City	1,839,333.10	1,702,669.63	1,542,527.16	1,210,796.58	1,352,971	1,268,206
Dublin Fingal	1,235,134.86	1,273,374.00	1,296,208.00	772,129.84	916,263	877,468
Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown	1,218,497.00	1,121,852.00	1,104,125.69	944,111.63	1,062,605	967,945
Galway City & Co.	742,889.18	724,388.75	707,780.00	601,146.26	860,900	699,098
Kerry	619,817.20	878,552.36	982,177.34	650,848.51	664,314	663,320
Kildare	790,481.82	709,773.00	521,776.00	514,538.50	614,339	525,530
Kilkenny	649,604.22	771,176.26	726,849.00	464,041.21	511,589	555,109
Laois	614,517.44	629,707.20	423,042.00	337,582.03	378,933	340,154
Leitrim	447,143.15	453,635.05	456,039.33	353,503.65	374,556	343,142
Limerick City	458,473.89	497,989.45	546,314.00	444,035.29	451,483	509,234
Limerick County	620,616.45	629,826.00	668,178.00	554,252.03	509,170	500,850
Longford	487,096.00	500,369.25	411,801.00	385,158.16	391,629	400,412
Louth	658,402.75	776,470.00	655,340.40	637,024.74	650,774	481,545
Mayo	661,202.00	824,138.75	512,442.00	427,551.41	560,505	393,316
Meath	589,575.21	635,483.70	632,536.00	487,144.52	721,665	438,465
Monaghan	552,237.50	403,461.63	572,831.86	377,655.61	383,943	370,340
Offaly	648,340.00	624,222.00	527,519.00	421,599.23	411,486	420,849
Roscommon	555,996.45	461,328.45	585,847.08	341,918.57	393,206	389,184
Sligo	670,073.27	639,531.01	593,446.00	473,710.90	385,083	470,955
South Dublin	927,927.00	739,802.40	889,640.31	710,879.31	612,292	836,556
Tipperary NR	532,193.31	651,888.00	544,346.00	451,009.52	442,521	498,000
Tipperary SR	666,274.21	543,045.15	486,749.32	450,682.95	404,912	446,962
Waterford City	556,098.08	583,035.66	462,002.21	511,273.43	451,974	473,260
Waterford Co.	575,402.99	593,503.69	473,282.51	471,971.64	424,806	505,563
Westmeath	1,007,748.35	679,622.55	700,446.35	556,137.55	559,232	634,910
Wexford	1,060,757.56	820,686.33	812,933.05	597,345.08	629,980	754,663
Wicklow	753,622.98	748,506.91	644,096.77	693,390.65	725,971	598,254

County	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Carlow	1,033,494.44	979,209.44	1,205,467.42	907,197.56	743,969	1,074,826
Cavan	1,032,084.56	997,239.99	930,462.00	815,297.38	520,577	678,796
Clare	997,607.00	892,405.25	1,082,570.47	727,769.13	865,913	835,078
Cork City	926,957.56	1,151,830.71	922,445.68	877,279.72	962,192	1,011,915
Cork North	275,299.68	447,121.00	600,207.00	422,531.54	599,804	451,263
Cork South	1,392,576.74	1,377,627.94	1,412,613.68	1,280,181.65	1,467,260	1,864,271
Cork West	780,585.57	976,230.53	903,009.15	773,352.86	685,697	851,611
Donegal	1,418,186.25	1,457,579.55	1,202,289.52	1,101,032.93	825,281	1,106,172
Dublin City	2,478,110.10	2,261,296.63	2,008,145.16	1,664,973.28	1,763,852	1,722,514
Dublin Fingal	1,647,436.86	1,736,370.00	1,662,859.00	1,141,194.02	1,313,670	1,306,690
Dun Laoghaire/ Rathdown	1,698,169.00	1,721,168.00	1,578,354.69	1,475,712.35	1,504,449	1,406,835
Galway City & Co.	1,088,884.18	1,021,708.75	1,027,597.00	865,636.95	1,034,957	1,053,154
Kerry	964,546.20	1,371,703.36	1,388,140.34	1,048,829.52	1,031,239	1,041,591
Kildare	1,185,640.82	1,132,140.00	905,450.00	836,249.63	1,084,688	799,643
Kilkenny	985,446.22	1,085,330.26	1,161,662.00	839,848.57	786,587	898,862
Laois	991,209.44	1,005,035.20	750,582.00	617,115.53	507,903	608,305
Leitrim	833,250.15	900,762.05	866,284.33	646,465.15	470,582	647,604
Limerick City	879,832.89	879,867.45	923,795.00	835,304.86	853,311	899,846
Limerick County	972,515.45	1,054,061.00	1,026,038.00	853,231.77	826,524	820,030
Longford	840,334.00	919,224.25	823,794.00	645,476.68	520,000	667,029
Louth	1,131,843.75	1,308,471.00	1,156,403.40	1,101,849.47	889,889	883,893
Mayo	947,174.00	1,032,982.75	688,493.00	627,811.07	638,222	502,765
Meath	1,041,031.21	1,105,556.70	1,056,139.00	804,001.52	1,068,893	775,440
Monaghan	961,228.50	858,398.63	1,093,834.86	721,206.87	511,226	712,306
Offaly	1,034,619.00	1,023,205.00	939,955.00	772,664.17	573,106	774,709
Roscommon	850,373.45	877,520.45	936,218.08	554,250.08	515,863	586,621
Sligo	1,051,499.27	1,113,589.01	971,558.00	728,557.23	555,319	801,352
South Dublin	1,322,062.00	1,146,353.40	1,289,898.31	1,002,304.41	949,071	1,169,997
Tipperary NR	923,374.31	1,000,892.00	917,692.00	750,513.75	821,750	828,641
Tipperary SR	1,039,382.21	909,784.15	878,716.32	787,122.13	690,144	678,087
Waterford City	851,309.08	910,014.66	809,261.21	715,842.49	666,066	765,478
Waterford Co.	879,227.99	889,229.69	791,621.51	746,845.51	603,582	703,368
Westmeath	1,426,091.35	1,139,284.55	1,141,572.35	901,425.67	779,314	1,061,215
Wexford	1,492,863.56	1,179,966.33	1,320,432.05	891,004.52	929,551	1,060,007
Wicklow	1,210,128.98	1,102,569.91	1,149,203.77	1,091,381.47	1,123,848	986,755

Employment Support Services

Ceisteanna (193, 194)

Peadar Tóibín

Ceist:

193. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide details of current State-identified employment priorities and initiatives directed specifically at the south east region. [7885/13]

Peadar Tóibín

Ceist:

194. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the measures he has enacted to tackle unemployment in the south east; and if he will outline those actions, the cost involved and the results in terms of net jobs created or lost. [7886/13]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

I propose to take Questions Nos. 193 and 194 together.

All of the State’s enterprise development agencies and local authorities in the South East region have been working together to provide greater focus on addressing the unemployment issue in the South East. Part of the remit of the South East Forum, which I established following the Talk Talk job losses, was to examine ways of ensuring better synchronisation of effort by these agencies and stakeholders in order to avoid duplication, and produce synergies that would lead to job creation and investment opportunities in the region. The South East Action Plan has a number of recommendations which the agencies and stakeholders are charged with implementing. I am satisfied that all these key players in the region have been working together, from within existing budgets, to achieve the Plan’s recommendations.

Between 2010 and 2012, Enterprise Ireland approved over €40m to companies in the South East to support a range of activities from Start-up, R&D, Management Development, ‘Lean’ business processes and expansion. There were a number of significant jobs announcements for the South East in 2012 e.g. the Eishtec Call Centre in Waterford city created 280 Enterprise Ireland-supported jobs; a further 65 Enterprise Ireland-supported jobs new jobs were created by Dawn Meats as a result of a 5 year €300m contract with McDonald’s restaurants; the two local Waterford City and County Enterprise Boards have created 59 new jobs; and Danone Baby Nutrition in Wexford announced an investment of €20m in its manufacturing facility which will create around 45 new jobs at its plant.

The cost of creating and supporting IDA Ireland’s jobs in the South East, between 2010 and 2011, was €25m. IDA Ireland has been very active in seeking to win additional investment for Waterford. This is evidenced in the most recent announcement on 12 February that Sanofi, a world-leading healthcare company, will invest €44m in Genzyme’s biotechnology campus in Waterford. This follows a €150m investment made more than a year ago, and will ensure that this facility can produce the company’s latest product. It provides an indication of the Waterford site’s strategic value to the company. Sanofi’s investment represents a very positive result for Waterford and Ireland and fits in with IDA Ireland’s focus on the life sciences as a key growth area.

All the key State players have been actively pursuing initiatives to facilitate development and job creation in the South East region, and I look forward to continued co-operation and collaboration with real benefits for the region.

Job Creation

Ceisteanna (195)

Brendan Smith

Ceist:

195. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if any special initiatives will be undertaken by his Department or the State's industrial promotion agencies to assist in the provision of much needed employment in County Monaghan taking into account the recent loss of jobs at a number of enterprises (details supplied) in County Monaghan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7911/13]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Supporting new and existing indigenous and foreign-owned businesses, is central to our plans for recovery, growth and jobs.

The Government is addressing job creation and retention through the twin strategies of the Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work. The aim of the Action Plan for Jobs is to support the creation of 100,000 net new jobs by 2016, while the objective of Pathways to Work is to ensure that as many of those jobs as possible go to those who are currently unemployed. The Plan is a whole of Government plan with a national focus across all regions.

The Enterprise Development agencies are at the forefront of implementing the Action Plan for Jobs and continue to ensure that enterprises can maximise their contribution to economic recovery and jobs growth. Despite a very difficult domestic and external economic environment, we are beginning to see the positive impact of the Government’s policies. 2012 saw significant net job creation by EI and IDA-supported companies, building on the positive results of 2011 and following successive years of significant net job losses.

My Department has successfully delivered on national actions, such as the establishment of the Microfinance Loan Fund and the Credit Guarantee Scheme, both of which will increase access to finance for enterprises and entrepreneurs throughout the country.

IDA continues to market the North East Region for new inward investment through its Gateway of Dundalk, in line with the Government’s National Spatial Strategy (NSS). IDA works closely with its 34 client companies in the North East Region that currently employ circa 3,211 people. At the end of 2012, there were 6 IDA Ireland supported companies in Monaghan employing circa 350 people and IDA continues to promote the county as part of its marketing strategy.

Enterprise Ireland provides a range of supports for High Potential Start-Up (HPSU’s) companies including, financial supports, business and marketing advice, mentoring, product development etc. Five HPSU’s were created in Monaghan since 2008 with a number of projects in the pipeline. EI also works with Monaghan County Enterprise Board and Monaghan County Development Board in enhancing economic development within the County. Payments of over €4 million were made to EI companies in Monaghan in 2012. To date in 2013, over €100,000 has been approved to Monaghan companies. In 2012, EI client companies employed 3,871 people in County Monaghan.

Ensuring that more micro and small businesses can start up, expand and export is a key pillar of the Government’s plans for jobs and growth. In November 2012, I announced that primary legislation will be drafted to dissolve the existing County and City Enterprise Boards and create an enhanced national micro-enterprise support model, delivered through Local Enterprise Offices to be established in each Local Authority area.

Pending the introduction of these arrangements, County and City Enterprise Boards, including Monaghan CEB, will continue to ensure that available funds are targeted to maximise entrepreneurial development and engage and work with micro-enterprises employing less than 10 persons, on an on-going basis, with strong referral to sister agencies to progress the needs of the businesses in their respective areas. In 2012, Monaghan CEB provided funding of €712,306 to micro-enterprises in Monaghan.

I am currently preparing the 2013 Action Plan for Jobs on behalf of the Government, and in that context, am exploring further measures which can be taken to transform our economy and support job creation across all regions of the country.