Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I accept that there are many more elements to the Action Plan for Jobs than IDA Ireland, although I pay tribute to the agency for the work it does. The Action Plan for Jobs for the west has a very specific target. It refers to 92 additional projects from IDA Ireland within the lifetime of the plan. However, between 2013 and the end of September 2015, 561 IDA Ireland site visits were to Dublin and a full 71% of them were to sites in the greater Dublin area. I am trying to work out how we will move on from this situation when the majority of site visits are to the Dublin area. The Minister has said that site visits are not the be all and end all but unless we bring potential investors to a location, they will not invest in that location. Given the disparity in terms of putting the bait out to catch the fish, how are we going to entice investors into the regions when we are not bringing them there? The Minister is long enough in politics to know that the investment cycle, in terms of a decision to invest, starts years out in advance.

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