COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, September 12, 2022

QUESTION NO. 15

QUESTION: Councillor C. O'Connor

To ask the Chief Executive to confirm his actions to attract employment to our County; will he detail contacts with Government in respect of this important matter and will he make a statement

REPLY:

The continued attraction of employment to our County is central to the actions of the Economic  Enterprise and Tourism Development Department and is refelcted as a key cross cutting theme in the Corporate Plan 2020-2024. In practice we work to facilitate investment and enterprise, which helps to create sustainable employment, which, in turn, supports our communities and contributes to the competitive urban economy within the wider metropolitan region. The expansion of Grange Castle Business Park is central to this and with the completion of the Grange Castle West Access Roads and utility corridor, the objective is to secure high employment yield businesses to develop there. Recent investment of €12.8m in the new Grange Castle West access road provides a platform for the creation of 10,000 jobs in this area, with the recent S.183 disposal in these lands to Lens Media supporting the creation of 1,500 jobs. 

South Dublin County Council are investing €570m in the delivery of its capital programme, which will provide the physical and social infrastructure to support employment creation and investment in the county, examples of which include the development of the €13.7m Innovation Centre in Tallaght, which will support the creation of 1,200 jobs. 

More than €80m is currently being invested in tourism related activites across the County in greenways, Corkagh Park, the Tallaght Heritage Centre, Lucan Destination Town, Rathfarnham Stables and Tallaght Stadium (to name but a few), which will support the creation of up to 4,800 jobs and annual tourism spend of €62m in the County as part of the implementation of the Council's Tourism Strategy

In addition and more generally, the Council continues to upgrade and enhance the aesthetic presentation of the County making it an attractive place to do business, e.g. Templeogue Village enhancement project, planned works for Lucan Village, the first district enhancement project at Tymon shopping centre, completion of second phase of the N81 landscaping project. 

Forward planning is a key component of our Economic Development Strategy and the County Development Plan for the period 2022 – 2028, sets out the strategic framework for economic policy over the next 6 years and has involved enagagement with all of the key national stakeholders and statutory bodies.  

The “CITY EDGE” Strategy has involved enagagement with all of the key national stakeholders and statutory bodies, including the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and Failte Ireland, and incorporates a significant focus on job creation in the longer-term with the potential creation of 75,000 jobs in this area. Allied to this, the Tallaght Town Centre Local Area Plan also provides a framework for the development of 15,000 jobs, which will build on the 25,000 jobs already in the area. This will be supported by the Local Area Plan's implementation, which is advancing at pace with the development of the Tallaght Innovation Centre, the town centre public realm project, including the development of the Innovation Quarter, the Tallaght District Heating Scheme, the Transport Mobility Hub, the Tallaght Heritage Centre, the Belgard Afforable Housing Scheme, as well as the €11.5m investment in Tallaght Stadium.      

For the emerging and new business sectors the construction of the Innovation Centre in Tallaght town centre is very significant and will support and lead to job creation. The South Dublin Local Enterprise Development Plan which was launched last year highlights the focus on local enterprise support for job creation through the LEO which promotes entrepreneurship, fosters sustainable business start-ups, and develops existing micro and small businesses to drive job creation. The LEO in addition provides accessible high-quality supports for Business ideas, for Entrepreneurs and Businesses are supported to grow and prosper in the following ways: