Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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272. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of Industrial Development Agency site visits that have taken place with prospective investors to County Clare and the Mid West Region in the first three months of 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19998/13]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I have been informed by IDA Ireland that, to date in 2013, there have been 13 agency sponsored site visits by potential investors to the d-West Region, of which 4 were to County Clare. These site visits were from new companies visiting the location for the first time and from senior executives of existing companies.

As Ireland competes for high quality investments, the concept of scale is crucial. Leading global corporations require a significant population pool, access to qualified talent, world standard physical and digital infrastructure coupled with the availability of sophisticated professional and business support services.

The d West Region, which includes Clare, has been particularly successful in recent years in terms of attracting inward investment from FDI companies. There are 59 IDA client companies in the d-West Region employing 7,885 people. IDA Ireland has strong relationships with these companies and works closely with them to ensure their long term sustainability and to encourage their growth, development and continuing re-investment in their sites.

I am mindful that, in order to ensure that Ireland can continue to compete globally for FDI projects, it will be necessary to undertake an in depth analysis of our FDI strategy with a view to informing the formulation of an appropriate strategy for the period post 2014. This analysis, which will be undertaken later this year, will take account of factors such as key trends emerging in FDI best practice internationally, Ireland’s strengths in attracting FDI, any changes to the EU’s State Aid rules that may be introduced in the near future and our agreed approach to regional development.

In the meantime, IDA Ireland has assured me that it will in 2013, in accordance with the Government’s recently announced 2013 Action Plan for Jobs, seek to target more than 130 new investments, secure €500 million of R&D expenditure and create 13,000 new jobs in its client companies.