Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

IDA Ireland has been doing wonderful work. It certainly has a strong focus on the regions. There are of course areas where we want to see improvement. We launched the regional enterprise development plans to identify the positives and build on them, but also to identify the gaps and how to improve where we need to improve. That is why we have €60 million in the regional enterprise development fund that is currently being spent right across the country. Site visits are only one part of it but if a place does not have something to show IDA, it will struggle to get visits. IDA had the best year in 17 years for regional job creation. More people are employed in the regions than ever before. IDA works to try to get companies out of the city. The city is an attractive place for companies because there is clustering and a pool of talent. I do not agree that we have not had significant improvements in regional job creation, because we have.

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