Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I do not accept that there are no instruments to try to promote a greater regional spread in the IDA. This year we have committed to build in Letterkenny, Athlone and Waterford. We have Connect Ireland, an innovative scheme that is delivering a more regional spread. There was an improvement. IDA investments outside Dublin went from 23% up to 30% and jobs went from 19% to 35%, so there was an improvement in 2013. We need to think a little more about how we have a successful regional enterprise strategy.

Overall the IDA accounts for approximately 8% of employment, so 92% of employment throughout the country is not in IDA firms. In some counties the proportion of employment represented by the IDA is 2% to 4%. This has always been the case and is not due to this Government. A credible regional enterprise strategy cannot be built on the 4% but must be built on the 96%. I am not saying the 4% is not important. A win in IDA is crucial. However, I would like to get away from focusing all the regional enterprise strategy on asking why the IDA is not bringing in more jobs. This is not to let the IDA off the hook but to talk about what is a credible regional strategy and what can we do.

That is why this year we have 200 manufacturing companies, 70 IDA and 130 Enterprise Ireland, with a good regional spread. The challenge is how can we lift their capabilities so our existing base can grow. Some 70% of IDA growth comes from its existing base. We are seeking to build from that base. A credible regional strategy must build from the base, whether IDA or Enterprise Ireland. I hope this tool will foster a more rounded discussion of what we can do in the regions.

It is horses for courses with the IDA. Mobile foreign investment is no longer manufacturing but business services and the nature of the locations they are looking for is different from ten years ago. We cannot change that. We cannot say we are going to compete for a different type of project when the mobile investment is in a certain area. We are out there to win what we can for Ireland Inc. and then try to maximise regional opportunity within that. We need to develop a credible strategy around this. The IDA is reviewing our strategy and we will be looking for a regional focus and at sectors where there is potential for a greater regional spread. We will be asking the IDA to consider sectors on which it has not focused.

Regarding property speculation, I have seen figures that suggest the replacement cost of some properties is multiples of what one could sell them for on the open market. There will be no building where that is the case, so we need some correction of prices to get building going again. If one can buy cheaper than one can build, we will get no building going. In my area, Dublin, I see some building happening because prices have recovered to a point where people are opening up sites. There is pressure on certain types of property but with the sort of controls on mortgage lending, I do not see a bubble or major speculation, but clearly we must be attentive.

The embassy network does not have hard targets. One wonders if one could develop country targets. Enterprise Ireland has targets for, say, the Gulf but the embassy would not have targets because it might have separate targets for Enterprise Ireland, the IDA, Bord Bia and Tourism Ireland. There are targets for the region but Deputy Tóibín is right. The ambassador co-ordinates and tries to drive the team but they still work on the individual targets of their respective agencies. They are all working to targets. None of our agencies is without a target to be delivered from the market in which they operate. There may be a way of addressing this. A review of the trade strategy has been published but they will examine the country strategies more closely.

Work is happening in the social economy. The Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock is involved. What does Deputy Tóibín mean by the "welfare cliff"?