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

Regional development is a top priority of mine and I am determined to help drive job creation all over Ireland. Increasing and sustaining foreign direct investment, FDI, outside of the main urban areas represents a vital part of this.

IDA Ireland's strategy for 2015-2019 includes a commitment to increase FDI in every region outside Dublin by 30%-40%. The 2016 results show that IDA Ireland is actively working towards this goal with 52% of all jobs created by the agency's clients last year based outside of Dublin. Site visit statistics also indicate that progress is being made towards this goal. In 2016, there were 638 IDA Ireland-sponsored site visits nationwide, up from 565 in 2015. Locations outside Dublin accounted for 55% of these visits.  It should, of course, be remembered that site visits are of limited value in projecting future investment, as most investment comes from an expansion of existing company activity.

To attract more FDI to the regions, IDA Ireland must maintain an adequate supply of marketable serviced land and buildings that can be offered to potential investors. There are currently 23 vacant IDA Ireland-owned properties which are available for investment. If such properties were not available it would significantly diminish the agency's ability to win mobile FDI, particularly for regional areas.

I emphasise that IDA Ireland is actively encouraging clients to locate in regional locations. The final decision, however, always lies with the company concerned and can be influenced by many different factors including access to talent, proximity to transport hubs and the suitability of local infrastructure.

See this speech in context