Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Mr. O'Rourke and his team are very welcome. I congratulate him on his appointment and wish him the very best. Like many others, I am aware of his career. He should be congratulated on his influence on Irish tax policy through many years. I hope his influence on Government strategy will continue in future.

We can all accept that Ireland internationally is ticking a lot of boxes for corporate FDI. All parties, including the IDA, the Government and EI, are to be congratulated on their work in that regard. I refer to the regional development priority Mr. O'Rourke envisages for the IDA. As other members have taken the opportunity to speak about things local to them, I, too, will do so. Leaving aside the issues of energy structure, political stability and all that, companies looking at where to base an overseas operation for access to the European market consider issues including talent pool, connectivity and access to social infrastructure, such as housing, schools and the kind of quality of life dimension the families of company executives will want in an area. Which of those considerations does Mr. O'Rourke see as being pre-eminent? Which of those factors, including talent, education, social infrastructure and connectivity, are the most important?