Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with that. We also have to pay tribute to the universities and third level institutions which are working hand-in-hand not just with the multinational companies but with the indigenous companies. The Deputy mentioned ABS Engineering in his area. That has won many awards and new contracts in Mexico, India and other places. It is a sign that a company such as ABS can be a major player globally. I hope that we can ensure that more of those companies grow in the future and can be located in the regions. Our policy is to ensure that we grow the regions by 10% to 15% each year and we have reached our targets. Our target is 200,000 jobs and 135,000 of those jobs are outside the Dublin area. All the regions have experienced growth recently and they will continue to do so.

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