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

Foreign direct investment, FDI, continues to be a key contributor to Ireland's economic development and growth. This Government's efforts to continue to attract FDI here will be guided by both my Department's policy statement on FDI and IDA Ireland's own five-year strategy for the period 2015 to 2019.

The IDA's strategy details how the agency will broaden its target sectors further and seek new markets. Specific targets have indeed been set as part of that approach, including boosting FDI in regional Ireland by 30% to 40% and creating 80,000 new jobs in the economy across the period of the strategy.

There is no denying that the global FDI market is increasingly competitive and that Ireland must fight hard to win each and every new investment. The challenges and opportunities presented by Brexit mean that we must maintain that focus on securing more FDI. I am confident, however, that our offering to prospective investors remains attractive. Our selling points include our pro-enterprise business environment, competitive economy, first-class workforce and proven track record as a home to global businesses. Our continued membership of the eurozone and European Union is also a significant positive. The Government will continue to work hard to reinforce these strengths while also taking steps to address any areas where we need to improve.

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