Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact that the advance factory unit site was completed in Sligo. I welcome the partnership of IDA Ireland and the local authority to open up infrastructural development.

The key issue is to ensure that we have a proactive campaign of site visits to promote the north west. The Minister of State referred to clustering. Certainly in Sligo and the surrounding part of the region clustering is evolving. However, it has to be continually supported and sustained.

The Minister of State referred to the development of the Oakfield site. I hope he takes into account the views of Deputy Scanlon and others, who have been consistently calling for greater emphasis on site visits to the region, specifically in Sligo and Leitrim, to ensure critical capacity is created in the area. This would enable the area to sustain itself between inward investment and the local economy, which can capture the spin-offs benefits from the multinational companies.

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