Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 87: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the steps he will take to ensure that inward investment will be provided for the Border counties such as Donegal, Leitrim, Cavan and Monaghan which have received no such investment since the Good Friday Agreement was signed; his views on whether these areas suffered significantly as a result of the previous 30 years of the Troubles and that they have suffered from a lack of high-quality employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18783/10]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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One of the high level goals set out in the recently launched IDA strategy document, entitled "Horizon 2020", is that, in the period 2010 to 2014, 50% of FDI projects will be located outside of Dublin and Cork. Building on existing regional strengths to ensure Ireland's economic development and optimising regional spread in overseas investments is central to IDA's core activities.

This initiative supports national policy as outlined in the National Spatial Strategy (NSS), the aim of which is to achieve a balance of social and economic development across the country. In particular the NSS focuses on the presentation of areas of sufficient scale and critical mass as national regional gateways and hubs. In this context the Gateways of Sligo, Letterkenny and Dundalk will be the major targets for investment in the Border counties.

However, the challenge in achieving an even spread of investment across the country is intensified as the sophistication of investments increase. These investments require a concentration of highly qualified and educated workers, supporting infrastructure and high level business services. Frequently, competition for Foreign Direct Investment comes from city regions with populations in excess of one million people. Dublin is the only recognised city region of scale in Ireland. If FDI is to continue to contribute to balanced regional development the other regions of the country must be promoted as regions of scale with urban centres that provide the range of infrastructure and services that high value investment projects demand. IDA continues to vigorously promote such regions to potential investors. Meanwhile, we must not forget that there are 71 IDA supported companies employing a total of 7,887 people in the Border region.

The implementation of the Good Friday Agreement has resulted in the creation of opportunities for the attraction and development of foreign direct investment to the Border region and there is a wide range of cross-Border activities aimed at economic development. The development agencies, both north and south work together and co-operate with one another to support economic development and investment in the Border areas.

Question No. 88 answered with Question No. 74.