Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 300: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the recent consultations he has had with the Industrial Development Agency to prioritise the IDA Business Park at Marlinstown, Mullingar; the number of visits he has had with potential clients to date in 2012; his plans or targets to incentivise business to come to this fully equipped, state of the art and fully services business park. [36282/12]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

IDA Ireland is the Agency with statutory responsibility for the attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI) to this country and its regions. IDA Ireland has informed me that it has invested significantly in developing its Business and Technology Park in Mullingar in order to make it attractive to overseas clients. The Agency continues to promote this Park and other local private property solutions to secure new investments for Mullingar and its surrounding areas through its network of overseas offices.

IDA Ireland has also confirmed that, to date in 2012, there have been 6 IDA sponsored site visits by potential investors to Co. Westmeath. There are 44 IDA Ireland supported companies in the Midlands Region, employing over 4,600 people. 3 of these IDA client companies are located in Mullingar. With the improved infrastructure that is now in place, a significant number of people commute from within the Midlands Gateway and IDA considers a project win in one Midlands town to have a positive impact on the other surrounding areas due to the close proximity of all main locations.

One of the high level goals in IDA's Strategy "Horizon 2020" is a commitment that in the period 2012 to 2014, 50% of all Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) will be located outside of Dublin and Cork. In seeking to meet this target within the context of securing high quality FDI for Ireland, IDA Ireland has pointed out that the concept of scale is crucial. Leading corporations require a significant population of highly qualified talent, essential physical and digital infrastructure coupled with the availability of sophisticated professional support services. There is intense and continual international competition to win FDI, which is mainly dominated by Metro City Regions with populations in excess of 1 million i.e. London, Manchester, Boston and Los Angeles. Ireland has only one Metro City Region, the Greater Dublin area, so, in order to achieve regional economic development, IDA Ireland focuses on marketing Gateway locations within each Region and highlights the opportunities provided by Hub locations which are within commuting distances of these Gateways. However, in the final analysis, it is the investor who decides where to visit and where to locate.

Globally the outlook for FDI continues to be challenging, but there are still investment opportunities in global markets. IDA Ireland has assured me that it will continue to compete vigorously for these projects for Ireland and will continue to promote the Midlands Region, which includes Mullingar.