Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for visiting Dundalk. It is nice to know he came to Dundalk to sit down and have a chat. I appreciate that the IDA and Enterprise Ireland have, as the Minister of State said, been involved in 800 investments. There have been 36 in Louth alone, comprising 4,485 jobs. Enterprise Ireland has been involved in the creation of 630 jobs. This is all very welcome.

However, we have also seen the closure of the PayPal offices and the exit of National Pen. Many FDI companies do a fantastic job in the country, but some are leaving. I would appreciate if the Minister of State could come to Dundalk and have a chat. It is not only County Louth but the whole country which is affected by this.

We welcome the work that is being done. Corporation tax has been significant for the past number of years. The Minister of State said it will be €10 billion this year and €16 billion next year. The country went through a very bad time over recent years, and only for the likes of FDI in this country which paid corporation tax and did a great job, things could have been worse. Let us fix things before they are broken. I appreciate the good work the Minister of State and Department are doing. I ask him to look at County Louth and make sure the sites are looked after.

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