Alan Dillon
Ceist:191. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the way that central Government will deliver economic growth to ensure regional balanced development. [22006/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 19 May 2022
Ceisteanna (191)
Freagraí scríofa
Balanced regional development is a key policy priority of mine and this Government. My Department contributes to this agenda in a number of ways, including through the work of the enterprise agencies and through our national enterprise policy, ‘Enterprise 2025 renewed’. A forthcoming White Paper on enterprise policy, will further this commitment to balanced economic development.
The Enterprise agencies have a strong role to play in this agenda through direct assistance to businesses as well as promotion and enhancement of regional locations as places for businesses to invest and create jobs.
Enterprise Ireland’s strategy fully aligns with Government's ambition to bring job opportunities and growth to all parts of Ireland increasing total employment to a record high of 2.5 million by 2024 with an ambitious target of creating 45,000 jobs over the next three years and increasing exports by Enterprise Ireland client companies to €30 billion.
The IDA has made progress in boosting investment in regional locations. Of the 246 investments won in 2020, more than half went to regional locations. In 2021, of the 249 investments secured by the IDA, over half were for locations outside Dublin.
The Local Enterprise Offices have just come out of an 8th consecutive year of growth with 7,400 new jobs created by LEO clients in 2021. The LEOs now support over 7,100 companies financially within their portfolio with almost 36,000 associated jobs.
My Department has published nine new Regional Enterprise Plans to 2024.
These plans are unique to each region focusing on identified growth opportunities while also addressing areas of vulnerability. The plans encourage collaboration among stakeholders to strengthen the regional offering for enterprise and therefore create an environment for successful economic development and growth across the country.
The Government, through Enterprise Ireland, has provided over €126 million in funding through the Regional Enterprise Development Fund, Border Enterprise Development Fund, and Regional Enterprise Transition Scheme to assist enterprise development and regional jobs growth across all regions. These Funds enable significant collaborative and innovative regional projects to provide a timely impetus to job creation in regional locations.
Up to €180 million is being made available over the coming months and years for the nine Regional Enterprise Plans to develop and implement collaborative and innovative enterprise projects – projects that will not just sustain but add to employment at county, regional and national level.
The ‘Town Centre First - A Policy Approach for Irish Towns’ which was jointly developed by Departments of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Rural and Community Development and informed by the work of a Town Centre First Interdepartmental Group, was published in February 2022, focuses on the regeneration of rural towns and villages.
Led by the Department of Rural and Community Development, ‘Our Rural Future’ is a whole-of-government rural development policy which sets out a range of measures to strengthen the resilience of our rural communities and economies, including addressing the impacts of the challenges experienced by people living and working in rural Ireland and maximising opportunities for rural areas.
Over the lifetime of the National Development Plan, the Department of Rural and Community Development will continue to invest in rural Ireland and communities across the country, supported through the various scheme such as the rural regeneration and development fund, the LEADER programme and the town and village renewal scheme, to name a few.
The Covid-19 pandemic imposed remote working on a lot of people. I want workers to be able to work remotely, whether from home or nearby hub if they chose to do so. Details of new legislation has been published which will give employees the right to request remote working, to allow people to live and work in their local regions. With more people working in their local towns and villages this will contribute to supporting our climate change targets, reduce traffic congestion and commuting times to an individual’s place of work.