John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for promoting County Laois, as he always does when he gets an opportunity to do so in the Dáil and rightly so. I apologise on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, who cannot be present.

The Department and its agencies continue to highlight the benefits of expanding or locating in all of our regions, including County Laois. County Laois is marketed as part of IDA Ireland's midlands region and the agency continues to work hard to create further employment opportunities in the county and to increase the number of multinational companies located there. There are two multinational companies based in Laois, which shows the potential for the county to attract new foreign direct investment and in retaining existing multinational investment over many years. In July, SkOUT Secure Intelligence announced it will open its new Europe, Middle East and Africa, EMEA, headquarters in Portlaoise, creating 30 high value cutting edge cybersceurity jobs in its initial phase. During the summer, Standex Limited celebrated the 40th anniversary of the opening of its operation in Mountmellick, County Laois. Both of these companies clearly represent the positive, enterprise-focused environment for international business that has been fostered in the county.

IDA Ireland actively encourages prospective investors to visit Laois and these site visits represent an important tool through which companies can be encouraged to locate in the county. While site visits are not necessarily linked to job creation, I am heartened that there had been seven site visits as of the third quarter of 2018 compared to four site visits for all of 2017. This positive trend reflects IDA Ireland's ongoing and intensive marketing efforts to promote Laois to as an attractive destination for foreign direct investment. The availability of serviced land and buildings in advance of demand is a key element in IDA Ireland's ability to encourage its clients to locate in a particular county. IDA Ireland operates a business and technology park in Portlaoise with approximately 24 acres of available land for investment. This site is being actively marketed to IDA Ireland clients through its network of offices in Ireland and overseas. IDA Ireland also regularly engages with key stakeholders on the ground in Laois, including local authorities, public bodies, the education sector and companies from its client base and the indigenous sector.

I want to emphasise that creating jobs in the regions is a priority for IDA Ireland and the Department. The Department is focused on doing everything it can to deliver the fairest possible spread of investment throughout the country. The energy and resources we have invested into regional growth is, as the evidence illustrates, now producing results. In 2017, for example, IDA Ireland delivered 99 regional investments with 45% of new jobs created outside Dublin. A total of 30,000 new foreign direct investment jobs have been created outside the capital over the past three years. We will continue to do our utmost to encourage further such job growth across all parts of Ireland in the time ahead.

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