Brendan Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)
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Question 166: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the efforts that have been undertaken by the Industrial Development Agency to bring foreign direct investment to Balbriggan, County Dublin, noting that Balbriggan has a highly educated and multi-skilled workforce readily available and has more than 40 acres of land zoned commercial and industrial by Fingal County Council ready to be built upon whenever required; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10574/11]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Balbriggan, in Fingal, North County Dublin forms part of IDA Ireland's East Region, which comprises Dublin City and County as well as the counties of Kildare, Meath and Wicklow, and is the largest region in Ireland and one of the fastest growing economic zones in Western Europe. The East Region is now home to 60,935 FDI jobs.

IDA Ireland promotes Fingal for foreign direct investment as part of the East Region. In addition the Agency continues to work with significant client companies in the Balbriggan area, in order to support them in transforming their Irish operations to ensure jobs can be maintained and losses minimised.

The Fingal area is well equipped to compete with other areas for potential foreign direct investment with high quality property solutions. IDA Ireland promotes all land and property solutions in the Fingal area, irrespective of ownership to potential FDI clients as opportunities arise. In addition the Agency is represented on the Fingal Development Board and the Fingal Economic Forum and works to promote Fingal for Foreign Direct Investment in partnership with those agencies.

In selecting locations to show companies, IDA Ireland seeks to include locations which have been affected by closures/job losses. Typically, a company is shown three or four selected towns, which can meet its requirements for skills, labour, site and/or buildings, infrastructure, etc. While IDA Ireland seeks to influence the selection of location, the final decision on location is taken in all cases by the promoting company.