Michael Kennedy (Dublin North, Fianna Fail)

Deputy Varadkar's comments on the recent IDA survey were not constructive and were deliberately set out to misrepresent the facts in the survey, which aimed to ascertain whether IDA clients would, if given the opportunity, decide to invest in Ireland again. Deputy Varadkar stressed that according to the survey 27% of foreign companies would locate themselves in the UK or elsewhere in western Europe. He did not mention that these 27% presented a range of reasons for not choosing Ireland, none of which related to Ireland and the support of the Irish Government.

Deputy Varadkar also did not mention the 82% of companies that rated Ireland as a good to excellent location for investment. He did not mention that 75% of companies with fewer than seven years of investment in Ireland would chose to invest in Ireland once again. Nor did he mention the 50% of companies who said if they were making their original investment all over again, they would again choose Ireland as the location. Picking, choosing and manipulating survey results to suit the Opposition's agenda to drive down the Government's reputation in the wider global economy is an example of sabotage.

See this speech in context