Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

IDA Ireland co-operates with Invest Northern Ireland, INI - the equivalent body in Northern Ireland - in the context of regional and all-island economic development, recognising appropriate opportunities to pursue mutually beneficial cross-Border co-operation. Where appropriate, IDA Ireland and INI co-operate on company visits where both jurisdictions are being considered by foreign companies. These visits are usually initiated by IDA Ireland's network of overseas offices. However, the Deputy should be aware that IDA Ireland competes with INI for inward investment in certain areas.

The economies of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have highly educated workforces. To that end, the skills pools available north and south of the Border are presented to potential investors as a key competitive advantage for investing in the Border regions on the island of Ireland. For example, PayPal, now located in Dundalk, made the decision to invest in that location based on the pool of skilled staff it could recruit from the large catchment area on both sides of the Border.

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