Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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282. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of site visits undertaken by chairs of Enterprise Ireland and the IDA to counties Westmeath and Longford from 1 July 2017 to date in 2018; if visits or introductions to the facilities available at a location (details supplied) have taken place in the same period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27682/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The IDA Ireland Business & Technology Park located in Mallinstown, Mullingar, Co Westmeath consists of c.22.5 hectares (c.55.6 acres).  The park is fully zoned and serviced and currently has one IDA client located there, namely Patterson Pumps. Patterson is an engineering company that manufactures industrial pumps and employs approximately 40 people.

IDA Ireland continues to market the Business & Technology Park through its network of overseas offices and having a client on the business park provides a positive reference for other potential investors.

Data on IDA Ireland site visits is collated on a county-by-county basis. Information on site visits to particular locations is therefore unavailable. There were 58 site visits to the Midland Counties of Longford, Westmeath, Laois, Offaly in 2017 and seven visits in Q1 2018. All of these site visits were accompanied by an IDA Ireland Executive. Enterprise Ireland does not conduct site visits.

There are 34 multinational companies based in the Midlands, employing 4,327 people across the Region. In County Westmeath, foreign direct investment (FDI) has performed well, the county has 17 companies employing 2,794 people with three of these companies employing approximately 150 people in Mullingar. IDA Ireland actively engages with its existing client base to support them in growing their business to retain jobs and expand their existing footprint in the region.

The IDA is involved in a number of initiatives to attract FDI to Westmeath and Longford. A digital marketing campaign is in place to market the Midlands Region for potential investors showcasing potential locations including Mullingar and Longford. The Agency also maintains regular engagement with the Chief Executives of Longford, Westmeath, Laois and Offaly County Councils to attract further investment to the region.

We recognise that there is room for improvement in Midlands and we are working hard, across Government, to further unlock the economic potential of the region. The Enterprise Agencies remain pivotal to this and they continue to engage with their clients, and with one another, to create jobs and source new investment for the region.

The table below outlines the number of site visits by IDA client companies to Counties Longford and Westmeath from 2013 to Q1 2018.