Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

301. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of Industrial Development Agency Ireland sponsored visits, by county, by month in 2016 to date, in tabular form; the agency's strategy to ensure an equitable distribution of visits among counties. [14055/16]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Since 2015 IDA Ireland has been working towards targets set out in their strategy “Winning - Foreign Direct Investment 2015-2019”. For the first time, under this strategy, ambitious investment targets have been set on a regional basis whereby the Agency aims to increase the level of investment by between 30% to 40% in each region.

The Government’s commitment to countrywide job creation is further illustrated by the Regional Action Plan for Jobs initiative. This initiative saw eight Plans published throughout 2015 and 2016, which identified a range of actions aimed at supporting each region to achieve its economic potential and raise employment levels.

These new regional initiatives are already showing promise. In 2015, 53% of all jobs created by IDA Ireland clients in were based outside of Dublin, compared to 49% in 2014.

IDA Ireland maintains statistics of site visits by potential investors on a quarterly basis only. During quarter one of 2016, there were a total of 136 IDA Ireland sponsored site visits by potential investors to various locations throughout the country. The following table sets out, on a county-by-county basis, the number of IDA Ireland sponsored site visits during this period.

It is important to note that data on site visits is not an accurate measure of the level of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) activity in a region or county. That is because approximately 70% of all FDI investment won by IDA Ireland comes from its existing client base, rather than new companies.

The true measure of FDI is reflected in IDA Ireland’s record 2015 results. IDA Ireland client companies created just under 19,000 (18,983) jobs on the ground during the year across a range of sectors, with every region of Ireland posting net gains in jobs.

While IDA Ireland does attempt to influence the choice of location, the final decision as to where to visit and ultimately locate is taken in all cases by the client company.

Table shows the number of IDA Ireland sponsored site visits, on a county by county basis during quarter one 2016.