Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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620. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of IDA-sponsored site visits to County Louth in each of the years 2014 to 2017 and to date in 2018; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16394/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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IDA Ireland is committed to increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) in every region of the country by 30%-40% by the end of its current strategy in 2019. Site visits do represent an important tool through which investors can be encouraged to invest in areas such as Louth and the IDA always does its utmost to ensure that overseas firms consider all potential locations when visiting Ireland. It is important to remember, however, that the final decision as to where to invest always rests with the company concerned. It is also the case that site visit activity does not necessarily reflect investment potential, as at least 70% of all new FDI comes from existing IDA client companies.

The following table sets out details on the number of IDA Ireland site visits to County Louth from 2014 to 2017. Figures for Quarter 1 2018 will be available by the end of April.