Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I understand the south east is one of the areas that has seen significant investment recently. It is important to note that foreign direct investment normally locates in clusters. As we know, industry tends to follow industry.

In regard to IDA Ireland activities, there were 27 site visits in Limerick, which is the Deputy's area. In my own area of Clare, we had 20 visits. These numbers represent a huge increase on what we were seeing in recent years. In addition, the mid-west results for 2017 show that 57% of all job approvals thus far are based outside of Dublin, an increase of 37% from the same time last year. This illustrates our focus on investment in every part of the State.

I take on board the points raised by the Deputy and assure him that the capital development plan is focusing very much on those issues. As I said, clusters are very important for FDI investment but also the proximity of third level institutions and the innovation centres that may be attached to them. Another consideration is the quality of the road network, and we have seen substantial enhancements in that regard in recent times. The inclusion of the Limerick-Cork motorway in the forthcoming plan will be particularly welcomed by the Deputy. There are some areas in the north east, as well as into the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's part of the country, where there are deficiencies in the road network that remain to be addressed and this is reflected in the number of site visits. The ultimate concern is to attract jobs into the country and ensure there is balanced regional development.

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