Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)

Foreign direct investment is extremely important given the collapse of the domestic market. We are supportive of the successes the Government has achieved with regard to foreign direct investment, but it is not nearly enough considering the major problem we have. We also have problems with the fact foreign direct investment operates in the State as an enclave. I have previously given the example in the House of the fact that 60% of exports comprise chemical and pharmaceutical products and 80% to 90% of their inputs come from abroad. As of yet, we do not significantly integrate foreign direct investment with the State.

We also have a problem with the fact that much of the focus has left the native entrepreneur and gone towards the foreign direct investment sector which is less sustainable. We have made the point previously that we have competing office structures, between the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and Invest NI in the North, and until these structures are merged, there will be cost inefficiencies. It is important to flag the fact that when the North of Ireland gets corporation tax powers of its own and its tax equates with ours, co-operation with this State will end because Northern Ireland will then be a direct competitor for our target FDI market. Therefore, it is important that a merger happens before then.

It should be possible to identify the cost of each office in each region. There is no Irish business operating internationally that could not tell us exactly how much that office costs. Also, do IDA staff who bring in jobs get incentives or bonuses for the jobs created? While those jobs are supported by another office, could they be tracked to just one office?

See this speech in context