James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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286. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of site visits the IDA Ireland has made to counties Wexford, Waterford, Kilkenny, Tipperary and Carlow in 2017; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5348/18]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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295. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the IDA Ireland site visits for quarter 4 of 2017, by county, in tabular form. [5585/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 286 and 295 together.

Under its current strategy, IDA Ireland has targeted an increase of 30% to 40% in foreign direct investment (FDI) in every region outside Dublin by 2019. Site visits remain an important tool to help encourage further such FDI and the IDA does its utmost to draw the attention of potential investors to suitable locations outside of our main urban areas.

We should always remember, however, that the decision a company makes on where to locate can be influenced by an array of factors. These include local infrastructure, availability of property and proximity to transport hubs. While the IDA encourages firms to locate in regional areas that may suit their business, the final decision always rests with the company itself.

The following table sets out the number of site visits to each County in 2017:

Site Visits by County 2017

Note: Potential clients visiting Ireland may visit more than one county and may return to a location more than once. These figures represent individual visits and are therefore not indicative of the number of companies that have visited.