John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I could not agree more. Looking at the statistics, we are achieving real results and deepening the spread of FDI companies across the regions. I can only go by IDA Ireland's 2018 results, which bear out that assessment. Last year, the agency delivered 113 regional investments, which is the equivalent of 56% of new jobs created outside Dublin. In the past four years, 44,000 FDI-driven jobs have been created outside Dublin. Again, I emphasise that all of us in the regions and the Government want to see things moving out of the capital. We want a regional spread that gives rise to the creation of good quality jobs. Not only do we want to see FDI companies doing so, we also want SMEs set up in the regions.

The infrastructure and the same incentives are in place and I cannot overemphasise, having met the representatives of the IDA in the south east, that they do everything they can when they go to the USA, France or Israel to entice companies to come to particular regions. The following is important. Many companies make their own assessments before they even go to a region and make their decisions.

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