Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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219. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of Industrial Development Agency Ireland sponsored visits, by county, in 2013; in 2014; and in 2015; and the agency's strategy to ensure there is an equitable distribution of visits to each county. [39318/15]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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220. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of visits sponsored by the Industrial Development Agency Ireland, to Dublin which also visited Cork; to Cork which also visited Dublin, since 2012, in the context of the agency’s Horizon 2020 sStrategy and the target that 50% of investments will be located outside Dublin and Cork. [39319/15]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 219 and 220 together.

IDA Ireland records its site visits on a county-basis only. The numbers of IDA Ireland-supported site visits on a county-by-county basis from 2013 to the end of the third quarter of 2015 are set out in the tabular statement. It is important to note that data on site visits is not a true measure of the level of FDI activity in a region or county. Approximately 70% of all FDI investment won by IDA Ireland comes from its existing client base. Working with stakeholders is exceptionally important in positioning any regional location to attract FDI and IDA Ireland continues to do so, as well as working with existing clients in all regional locations.

There were 757 visits to Dublin and 131 visits to Cork during the period 2012 to 2015 (end Q3). Some companies depending on their requirements may visit both Dublin and Cork on the same itinerary or choose to visit one county or the other. IDA Ireland cannot give details on clients’ individual itineraries for reasons of client confidentiality.

Global competition for FDI is increasingly intense and investors have many attractive location options to choose from. IDA Ireland actively incentivises and encourages investors to consider a range of potential locations in Ireland, however the ultimate decision on location rests with the client.

IDA Ireland launched its new strategy for the next five years entitled ‘Winning – Foreign Direct Investment 2015-2019’ earlier this year. Regional development is a major component of IDA Ireland of the strategy, which sets out the agency’s commitment to achieving a significant uplift in the amount of FDI projects going into regions and outlines strategic actions aimed at achieving this. As part of this strategy, IDA Ireland will roll out a €150m property investment plan over five years, which will support the achievement of the organisation's regional goals. The funding will be used to upgrade its business and technology parks, strategically invest in utility-intensive sites and build new advanced technology buildings in a number of regional locations.

The Government is committed to strong job creation in all regions of the country. The Regional Action Plan for Jobs initiative was launched by the Government in February of this year. The purpose of this initiative is to identify a range of actions aimed at facilitating each region to achieve its economic potential to raise employment levels. To date, four regional plans have been published – Mid-West, South-East, South-West and Midlands.

IDA Ireland-supported Site Visits by County 2013-2015(Quarter 3)

IDA Ireland-supported site visits to Dublin and Cork from 2012 to 2015 (end Q3)