Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Deputy will see that the flow of new investments from Asia on the foreign direct investment, FDI, front is probably less than the IDA would have hoped for but we believe it is a market with which we must persist. We will be seeking to maintain our presence in these markets even though, in the short term, one might say it is not turning around the same return, either in IDA investment or in Enterprise Ireland exports. They are in markets that will dominate growth in the future and we have to be there. In terms of Enterprise Ireland, we have to get companies that are Asia-ready. There is no point in bringing in a company that is not willing to commit feet on the ground and build a long-term relationship. From our point of view, it is a long-term project and we should commit to keeping the resource there even though one would be able to show that projects per head of placement are probably lower in Asia than in the United States or in-----