Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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676. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation when the Industrial Development Agency last visited Cavan and Monaghan; the number of new jobs which have been created by the IDA in the past 12 months; the plans of the IDA to attract companies to Cavan and Monaghan; the success of the IDA with this strategy for Cavan and Monaghan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19638/16]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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IDA Ireland markets Cavan and Monaghan as part of its North East Region. There are seven IDA Ireland client companies in Cavan and five in Monaghan. This existing client base has performed well with a total of 1,311 IDA supported jobs in Cavan and Monaghan, 81 new jobs have been supported by IDA in these counties in 2015.

Figures for IDA Ireland-sponsored site visits are collated on a quarterly basis and are set out in the following table together with a breakdown of jobs and new jobs. It is important to note, however, 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 partly because approximately 70% of all FDI investment won by IDA Ireland comes from its existing client base, rather than new companies.

IDA Ireland positions the North East as having strong clusters in international business services and manufacturing, given the presence there of such companies as eBay, PayPal, Liberty Mutual, Cargotec, Wellman and Abbot. These international brands are an attraction and serve as significant reference corporations for additional companies that are considering locating to the North East. The proximity of the region to Dublin also helps increase its attractiveness to prospective investors.

IDA Ireland remains committed to significantly increasing the number of investments outside Dublin, including the North East, and the Agency will continue to work with both stakeholders and existing clients with that goal in mind. It is the case, however, that while IDA Ireland does attempt to influence the choice of location by investors, the final decision as to where to both visit and ultimately locate is taken in all cases by the client company itself.

IDA Ireland Jobs Statistics 2015; Site Visits 2015 and Quarter 1 2016 for Cavan and Monaghan