Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

48. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of Industrial Development Agency site visits made to counties Tipperary, Clare and Limerick in each of the years 2014 to 2016 to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22540/16]

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

I want to emphasise that IDA Ireland is doing its utmost to secure new investments for not just these three counties but across Ireland as a whole. Regional development is a cornerstone of the Agency’s five-year strategy, as is evident from the ambitious target set to increase investment by 30%-40% in each region outside Dublin.

National statistics in connection with job creation and site visits show that real progress is already being made. Of the record 18,983 new jobs created by IDA Ireland clients in 2015, 53% were based outside of Dublin, compared to 49% in 2014. Similarly, 57% of site visits in 2015 were to locations outside of Dublin, up from 43% in 2014.

In Clare, Tipperary and Limerick 132 IDA-Supported companies supported 18,966 jobs last year.

I set out below a breakdown of site visits to Tipperary, Clare and Limerick for the period in question. As the table shows, there was a total of 114 IDA Ireland-sponsored site visits to these three counties.

With regards to data on site visits for this calendar year, information is only yet available for the first three months. That is because IDA Ireland collates such data on quarterly basis and the information has yet to be compiled in respect of the second quarter. The number of site visits for the second quarter should, however, be available within a matter of weeks.

IDA Ireland-sponsored Site Visits 2014-2015 and 1st Quarter 2016