Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This is the Tánaiste's first time taking parliamentary questions relating to her new Department. I wish her well in her new role.

My question is on IDA Ireland. I have plenty of time for IDA Ireland. It has a very good chief executive and some fantastic people working for it, but I feel that it does not always have the resources that it needs. I have often argued in this House for more resources for it.

I want to raise the issue of regionality. The latter, and bringing jobs into regions, is a critical component of the programme for Government, and it is something that we all advocate in this House. I want to get into the detail of the criteria used for site visits and for pushing certain potential inward investment companies to certain parts of the country. What criteria are used when it is decided where some companies should be encouraged to go? We cannot break confidentiality for specific companies, but I want to see a transparency of process.

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