David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. O'Rourke and his team and congratulate him on his appointment. I wish him well with the work ahead.

I will follow up on Deputy O'Reilly's comments on AI. Last week, I attended a global parliamentary seminar at which we heard AI being described as the fourth industrial revolution following on from steam, electricity and the computer age. It is that important. The seminar heard that we are now in a post-Internet age, which is amazing to think about.

I will start by addressing a report on the IDA website on European cities and regions of the future. The Chairman will be glad to hear that the mid-west is ranked No. 1 in FDI strategy. Thankfully, Cork is ranked No. 2 for friendliness, which does not surprise me, and economic potential. Dublin's is ranked No. 3 overall and No. 2 for economic potential. That is excellent. The west of Ireland is also doing extraordinarily well. Other parts of the country obviously need attention. Will part of the IDA's strategy be to look at parts of the country that are not doing so well and could do better? I note Mr. O'Rourke said the IDA moved many of the start-ups and FDI outside Dublin last year. What work is the IDA doing to spread investment out even more? What parts of the country has it identified as needing attention?