Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I assure the Deputy that there is no competition or problem. The more delegations that come, both North and South, the more we welcome them. If we get 20 of them in the same month, all the better as far I am concerned.

I am aware of the Irish Technology Leadership Group and have met its representatives who are doing very good work. They have made a commitment to also working on the Northern side, which is perfectly fine. The IDA's record as a State agency speaks for itself. I do not claim everything was got right on every occasion but much more was done correctly than wrongly in regard to this country's foreign direct investment policy.

We have also become the tenth largest investor in the United States. Overseas investment between our countries is a two-way flow and Irish companies employ more than 82,000 people across all 50 of the United States. That statistic is not well known. Last year alone, more than 27 companies opened offices in the United States and more than 40 Irish companies have a presence in New York.

The level of foreign direct investment in Ireland relative to the size of the economy is one of the highest in the world. More than 1,000 multinational companies operate in Ireland, including many of the leaders in information technology and software, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, life sciences and international financial services.

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