Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

Over 31,000 people are employed by IDA companies in the west of Ireland, as the Minister outlined. I welcome the fact that the ambition is going up, from 76-IDA backed investments in the last plan to a target of 100 investments over the lifetime of this strategy. I welcome the publication of the strategy.

I attended the opening of the Medical Technology Ireland conference yesterday in Galway and saw for myself the talent, business and enterprise that was ongoing in the Galway medtech ecosphere. It is vital that we continue to support that. Over the last 20 or 30 years, we have built expertise, facilities and such a successful ecosystem, including relationships between the universities and businesses. Does the Minister have any plans to continue to support that and what will that support look like?

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