Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Regional development remains a key priority for myself and my Department. We understand the importance of achieving the best possible spread of employment and investment across the country and my Department and its Agencies have been working hard towards that goal. Significant progress has already been made, with 58% of all IDA client-supported employment, for example, now located outside Dublin. This figure represents the highest such figure in the history of the Agency. Last year the Agency also delivered 113 regional investments. Our aim is to increase these numbers further in 2019 and create more jobs and economic opportunities across regional Ireland.

As I have previously made clear, the availability of marketable serviced land and buildings in advance of demand is a key element in the IDA's ability to compete for mobile foreign direct investment. Not only does such a supply of properties help the Agency to secure high quality jobs but it also allows projects to begin at an earlier date by diminishing difficulties associated with land acquisition, planning and construction. It therefore remains an important means by which the IDA can encourage and attract new investors to Ireland. The IDA currently owns 29 properties across Ireland. Of these, 14 are occupied by IDA clients with the remainder available for prospective or existing investors.

As regards site visits, they are important in helping the IDA showcase regional locations to prospective investors. The Agency and its staff continue to do their utmost, including through site visits, to encourage overseas companies to locate in regional areas. At the same time, we must recognise that the final decision as to where to invest always rests with the firm concerned. It is also the case, no matter what efforts we make to underline the undoubted benefits of regional locations, that certain overseas companies will only consider investing in large urban areas for various commercial or operational reasons.

Table A below outlines the number and status of IDA owned properties by County. Table B details the number of IDA site visits to each county in 2018 and the first quarter of 2019.

Table A

Table B