Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 July 2019
233. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of visits the IDA made to south County Kildare and Athy over the past five years; the number of additional jobs and investments secured in each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30328/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra234. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of visits the IDA made to counties Carlow and Kilkenny over the past five years; the number of additional jobs and investments secured in each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30329/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra235. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of visits the IDA made to County Waterford over the past five years; the number of additional jobs and investments secured in each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30330/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra236. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of visits the IDA made to County Wicklow over the past five years; the number of additional jobs and investments secured in each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30331/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra237. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of visits the IDA made to County Galway over the past five years; the number of additional jobs and investments secured in each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30332/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 233 to 237, inclusive, together.
Regional development remains a key priority of mine as Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation. Through my Department and its Enterprise Agencies, I am focused on strengthening investment and job creation all over the country. In 2018, 56% of all net new jobs created by IDA Ireland were in locations outside Dublin. Similarly, every region in Ireland posted net gains in jobs last year. There are now over 132,000 people employed across 681 firms in IDA client companies outside the capital. In fact, 58% of all IDA-supported employment is now outside of Dublin. This represents the highest number of people employed in the regions by IDA clients in the Agency’s history. The strength of the IDA's recent mid-year results for 2019 indicates that we can continue to rely on the selling points that make investing in the regions so attractive in the first place with the technology, financial services and pharmaceutical sectors performing extremely well.
Kildare and Wicklow are part of IDA Ireland’s East & Mid -East region. There are 29 IDA supported client companies in County Kildare, which collectively employ 8,838 people - representing an increase of 4.5% over the previous year. IDA clients such as Intel, Pfizer, and Procter and Gamble are all located in Kildare and continue to perform well. FDI levels in Wicklow are also trending in the right direction. The County saw a 17% increase in FDI employment last year, with 388 net new jobs added by IDA client companies.
IDA Ireland’s South-East region includes Counties Kilkenny, Waterford and Carlow. There are currently five IDA client companies located in Kilkenny employing a total of 711 people which represents an 8% increase since 2015. County Waterford has 38 IDA client companies employing approximately 7,100 people, representing an increase of 3% over last year with 374 net new jobs added. There are currently seven IDA client companies operating in Co. Carlow employing a total of 1,150 people. Last year alone, the number of IDA supported jobs in Carlow increased by 31% with 275 net new jobs added. A further boost to the County was MSD's announcement late last year that it plans to construct a second manufacturing facility at its existing site in Carlow with the creation of 170 new jobs.
County Galway is part of the IDA’s West region and is home to a strong base of multinational companies. There are 81 IDA clients in the County employing 19,969 people, which represents an increase of almost 8% over last year. Galway has developed into a focused global centre of FDI activity providing knowledge intensive services for global companies such as Boston Scientific, Medtronic, HP and CISCO.
Table (A) outlines the employment figures for the years 2015-2018. Figures for 2019 will not be available until the end of the year. Data on IDA-supported jobs is collated on a county-by-county basis. Information on the number of jobs in specific towns and locations is therefore unfortunately unavailable. Table (B) outlines site visits to the respective counties from 2015 to Q1 2019. Whilst site visits are an important tool in helping showcase regional locations to investors, it is important to remember that the final decision as to where to invest rests solely with the company concerned. It is also the case that site visit activity does not necessarily reflect investment potential, as a significant proportion of all new foreign direct investment comes from existing IDA clients already present in the country. Investments by IDA clients are released as national figures only and Table (C) outlines the number of these investments won from 2014 to 2018.
Table (A) IDA Employment 2015-2018
|
County |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
|
Carlow |
768 |
802 |
875 |
1,150 |
|
Galway |
15,463 |
17,041 |
18,503 |
19,969 |
|
Kilkenny |
650 |
762 |
716 |
711 |
|
Waterford |
5,574 |
6,253 |
6,690 |
7,064 |
|
Wicklow |
2,203 |
2,234 |
2,230 |
2,618 |
|
Kildare |
10,123 |
9,740 |
8,452 |
8,838 |
Table (B) IDA Site Visits 2015 to Q1 2019
|
County |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
Q1 2019 |
|
Carlow |
1 |
9 |
8 |
7 |
3 |
|
Galway |
41 |
42 |
62 |
54 |
9 |
|
Kilkenny |
10 |
10 |
6 |
5 |
5 |
|
Waterford |
31 |
17 |
11 |
21 |
8 |
|
Wicklow |
7 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
|
Kildare |
7 |
8 |
10 |
8 |
3 |
Table (C) IDA Ireland Annual Total Investments 2014 - 2018
|
Year |
Total Number of Investments |
|
2014 |
197 |
|
2015 |
213 |
|
2016 |
244 |
|
2017 |
237 |
|
2018 |
265 |
