Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 132: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the progress that has been made to date by the Industrial Development Authority in ensuring that 50% of new or expansion investments are located outside of Dublin and Cork; the geographic location of new or expansion investments to date in 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36177/10]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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One of the high level goals of IDA's strategy "Horizon 2020" is that in the period 2014, 50% of new FDI projects will be located outside of Dublin and Cork. To date in 2010, 16 of the 63 investments announced are located outside of Dublin and Cork. Of the remaining 47 projects announced, 39 are located in Dublin and 8 are located in Cork. The locations of the 16 projects located outside of Dublin and Cork are set out in the attached tabular statement.

IDA is fully committed to securing a balance in regional development including winning investment for the Border Region. The challenge in achieving an even spread of investment is intensified as the sophistication of investments increases. A key aspect of the high value, knowledge intensive FDI, for which Ireland now competes, is that it increasingly favours locations in or near centres of urban scale, where it has access to the concentrations of infrastructure, skills and services it needs.

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.

While IDA Ireland continues its focus on winning investment for locations outside of Dublin and Cork, it must be remembered that in the final analysis it is the investor who decides where to locate.