Written answers

Thursday, 8 December 2016

Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

IDA Site Visits

Photo of Niall CollinsNiall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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19. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she will provide an update on regional IDA site visits and vacant properties in 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39107/16]

Photo of Mary Mitchell O'ConnorMary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Regional development is a top priority of mine. Increasing and sustaining foreign direct investment (FDI) outside of Ireland’s main urban areas forms a vital part of this.

IDA Ireland’s strategy for 2015-2019 includes a commitment to increase FDI in every region outside of Dublin by 30-40%. Site visit statistics indicate that progress is being made towards that goal. In 2015, 57% of site visits took place outside of Dublin, up from 43% in 2014. The latest available figures for 2016 show this trend is continuing, with 58% of visits this year outside of the capital.

To attract more FDI to the regions, the IDA must maintain an adequate supply of marketable serviced land and buildings that can be offered to potential investors. There are currently 21 vacant IDA Ireland-owned properties which are available for investment. If IDA did not have such properties available it would severely diminish Ireland’s ability to compete for mobile FDI, particularly in regional Ireland.

The IDA actively encourages clients to locate in regional locations. I also encourage companies to do likewise. The final decision, however, always lies with the investor itself. It must also be borne in mind that the number of site visits to a county does not necessarily reflect FDI activity there, especially as 70% of all new FDI comes from existing IDA clients.

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