Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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43. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of Industrial Development Agency sponsored visits by potential investors to County Donegal in 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18403/15]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by IDA Ireland that there were 6 IDA Ireland sponsored site visits by potential investors to County Donegal during 2014.

IDA Ireland sponsored site visits by potential investors to specific locations in Ireland are only part of the long and complicated process involved in attracting foreign direct investment to this country. These site visits may take place at the beginning or end of the process and in some cases there are no site visits involved. Site visits, when they do occur, involve new companies visiting a location for the first time and senior executives of existing companies. For reasons of client confidentiality and commercial sensitivity, IDA Ireland does not comment publicly on the success rate of such site visits. While these site visits contribute to investment approvals and the creation of jobs, there is not always a direct correlation between site visits made and jobs created in any given year. It is important also to acknowledge the natural time lag between a decision being made to invest and that investment coming on stream. The time lag can be between 3 and 5 years in some cases. That time is required for such activities as locating and acquiring a suitable site for the company’s operations, constructing a facility, installing machinery and the recruitment and training of suitable staff.

The level of investment coming on stream is best captured in the number of jobs created in any given year as recorded in the Annual Employment Survey which shows that employment in IDA Ireland client companies in Donegal rose from 2,387 in 2013 to 2,612 in 2014 an increase of over 9%.