Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

I will point out that we have seen a significant increase in IDA activity and employment in the mid-west region - approximately 16% over the past five years. The Deputy will know of very important client companies in his region, including Boston Scientific and Waystone, where there has been a new investment of 100 jobs. Working very closely with my colleague, Michael Murphy, we are doing a huge amount of work on delivering infrastructure to the region that will support the growth of employment. That is why we see 5,589 people, which means 5,589 families, who go to work every single day in IDA client companies in County Tipperary. There are approximately 27,968 such jobs in the mid-west region. That is why the IDA strategy out to 2029 focuses on delivering on the investment that is currently there. As I said in my contribution, the amount that comes from existing clients, notwithstanding new clients coming into the economy is very significant. We will be working very hard on that. As Minister for enterprise, I will ensure that high-quality jobs are coming right across our region. Specifically, the new strategy calls for 55% of all new jobs to go to regional Ireland.

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