Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is correct. There is an old saying, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink". That is part of the problem we have. The IDA has put all the incentives it has at the disposal of companies that want to invest in the regions but at the end of the day it is the property people of these companies that might invest in Ireland who decide where their company should be. I listed the factors that contribute to such a decision at the beginning of my reply. As a result of the Brexit scenario, 40 companies across the various sectors the Deputy spoke about - the financial, life sciences, technology and engineering sectors - have all chosen Ireland. I expect more of these companies to come to Ireland because we are English-speaking and we have the fastest growing economy in Europe. We also have a reputation for having a good, young, educated workforce. I expect to see more of that because of the rollercoaster effect. The IDA is targeting that. We certainly will convey the Deputy's concerns about it to the IDA. I see more investment coming into the regions because of the quality of life they offer, the talent in them, the universities, other third level institutions and the various infrastructure such as transport hubs. All of these are important, as Ireland's road network reduces the time it takes to get to Dublin. It is only takes two to two and a half hours to get to Dublin from the mid-west. That is considered quite close for most companies that want to invest in a region.

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