Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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117. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the efforts she is making in conjunction with the IDA to secure foreign direct investment for a business park (details supplied). [45973/19]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, regional development is a key priority of mine and I am focused on maintaining existing jobs while also increasing the level of employment and investment in every county in Ireland. That was the case in 2018 and 2019 and our collective emphasis on regional development will continue in 2020.

The site that the Deputy is referring to is the IDA Ireland Business and Technology (B&T) Park which is located in Ardmore, Mullingar. The park comprises 27 hectares with 22.5 hectares available for investment. The site is fully zoned and serviced and there is currently one IDA client located there, namely Patterson Pumps. The IDA continues to actively market this B&T Park through its network of offices in Ireland and overseas.

More broadly, the FDI trend in Westmeath is positive. There are currently 21 IDA client companies located in the County, employing 3,466 people. Three of these companies are located in Mullingar, employing approximately 150 people. The wider County has seen an almost 17% increase in FDI employment from 2017 to 2018 and the IDA actively engages with its client base to support them in growing their business and footprint further.