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

IDA Ireland had a record year last year and its half-year results this year are outstanding. More than 132,000 people are employed in 681 IDA client companies located outside Dublin. Some 56% of all new foreign direct investment jobs created last year were based in regional locations. I will give Deputy Troy some data on his own county. There are 21 IDA client companies in County Westmeath, employing 3,466 people. That represents an increase of 16% over last year, with 493 new jobs added. In 2009, when Fianna Fáil was in government, there were 1,983 people employed in IDA companies in Westmeath. That figure has nearly doubled by today, due to the policies and focus this Government is putting on job creation in the regions. In July 2018, Neueda Technologies, a privately owned IT training, development and consulting services company, headquartered in Belfast, announced plans to establish a software engineering hub in Athlone, County Westmeath, employing 200 staff over four years. There are a number of different companies involved. There are six IDA client companies based in County Longford, employing 900 people.

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