Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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220. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of visits the IDA has made to Portarlington, County Laois over the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28421/19]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The IDA's performance in 2018 reflects the emphasis the Agency and the Government have placed on increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) into regional locations. Last year, for example, 56% of all net new jobs created by IDA client firms were in locations outside Dublin. There are now over 132,000 people employed across 681 firms in IDA client companies outside the capital. 

County Laois is marketed as part of the IDA’s Midlands Region. There are currently four IDA client companies operating in Co. Laois employing a total of 122 people. Last April the Canadian company Greenfield Global announced plans to establish a new manufacturing facility in Portlaoise which will create 75 new jobs.  The Agency is working hard to attract further such investment to the County.

Data on IDA Ireland site visits is collated on a county by county basis. Information on site visits to specific locations - including individual towns - is therefore unavailable. Whilst site visits do remain an important tool in helping showcase regional locations to investors, it is important to remember that the final decision as to where to invest rests solely with the company concerned. It is also the case that site visit activity does not necessarily reflect investment potential, as a significant proportion of all new FDI comes from existing IDA clients already present in the country. 

The following table provides details on the number of site visits to Laois from 2015 to Q1 2019: