Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Mr. O'Rourke and his team are very welcome. I wish him the very best in his role. We look forward to ongoing engagement with him and the team. Since we are all mentioning our teams, I will not go without saying "Up the Dubs". We can move on from that.

In his opening statement Mr. O'Rourke mentioned his own CV and his work history, which is broad and comprehensive. He mentioned his work with companies on the west coast of America as well as in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, which is obviously what equipped him for the job. Will his experience in these roles and covering those areas help the agency and Ireland build and maintain the success of the past while also securing investment from new markets in the future?

Mr. O'Rourke mentioned that the capacity to secure FDI, and the work of IDA Ireland in that regard, is a very striking feature of our economy. Preserving the flow of high-impact US projects is very important, but it cannot be to the detriment of other areas. We know that there are other markets where we can and should be active. Does Mr. O'Rourke agree that we can expand and perhaps take the focus off the US? Is it possible to keep the focus on the US while also expanding? Is he confident that his own experience and the geographical spread of his CV lends itself to being able to execute that expansion?