Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is, of course, important to attract jobs into the country but it is equally important to ensure those jobs are evenly spread throughout the State. The data show that is not happening. Of the 323 site visits that took place in the first six months of 2017, 48%, or almost half, were in Dublin and the greater Dublin area. Counties Laois and Meath had no site visits, while counties Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Offaly and Roscommon had one visit each in the first half of the year. We should not seek to diminish or dilute the significance of site visits and at the same time, IDA Ireland has almost 100 vacant properties across the country. I take every opportunity I have on Question Time to raise this issue. The Government must use whatever means are necessary to force IDA Ireland to encourage site visits in parts of the country where they are not happening.

Last week, Deputy Quinlivan and I were part of an Oireachtas committee delegation that visited the south east to meet members of the business community. If the Tánaiste and Minister of State had been among our number, they would have been run out of town because people there are very annoyed by what they perceive as the lack of attention from both Government and the State agencies, Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. It was hot and heavy going during the two sessions, with the business representatives rightly making their feelings known in a vociferous manner. The Government has a responsibility to achieve a greater spread of site visits into the regions outside the greater Dublin area.

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