12 February 2015
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Fine Gael TD for Cork South West, Noel Harrington has today welcomed
today’s launch of the Action Plan for Jobs – Regional by the Minister
for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD.
This is a five year, €250million strategy aimed at accelerating the
jobs recovery in every part of the country.
“With the creation of 80,000 jobs and the economic recovery well
underway, the investment contained in the Action Plan for Jobs –
Regional will help create jobs in all parts of the country including
West Cork.
“Employment is growing in every region but extra resources are needed
to accelerate job creation in regional areas and that is what the
Action Plan for Jobs – Regional is all about. Eight regions will
develop a strategy setting out lists of actions with timelines and
responsibility allocated, and then monitoring implementation. A
regional team will be established to meet with stakeholders, identify
the strengths of a region and to finalise actions. The first plan will
be published in the coming weeks for the Midlands, with six plans
published by July and all eight in place by the autumn.
“IDA Ireland will roll out a 5-year €150 million capital investment
programme to help attract more multinational jobs into each region. I
am confident that this will provide a huge benefit to West Cork and
the surrounding areas.
“Lead responsibility for coordinating the development of the plan will
be assigned to an Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland official in each
region. Stakeholders including enterprise agencies, educational
institutions, local authorities, businesses and community groups will
be responsible for working together to develop the Action Plan in each
region.
“The Action Plan for Jobs – Regional is based on the principle that
the best way to support job-creation in towns and villages across the
country is to support agencies and organisations within each region to
build on the particular strengths and assets of their area and drive
new job-creation strategies and projects.
“To support and encourage regional stakeholders in working together,
up to €100 million in Enterprise Ireland funding will be made
available over 5 years through a series of competitive calls. The
first tranche of €50 million will be made available from 2015. Funding
under these programmes will be allocated on a competitive basis, with
most funds awarded to regional projects offering the best prospects
for job-creation.
“Our economic recovery is well underway, with Dublin and other cities
recording particularly strong growth in job creation. We want to
spread that jobs recovery to every region and every community. Small,
local businesses are growing and benefitting from investment, and
investment such as that announced today will ensure this continues.”
