Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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167. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of IDA Ireland site visits to County Cork in quarter 2 of 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43956/21]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Regional development is at the centre of IDA’s new strategy. IDA Ireland will target half of all investments (400) from 2021- 2024 to regional locations and maintain the same high level of investment as targeted in IDA’s previous strategy for each region of the country.

The FDI performance in the South West Region has been consistent over the past five years with employment among IDA clients increasing by 29.64 %. There are 194 IDA client companies in Cork, employing 43,856 in total.

In response to COVID, IDA migrated many of its business development and client engagement activities to digital platforms during 2020. IDA Ireland has developed a suite of digital content which can be accessed by potential investors. The Agency has developed this further and has put in place an E-Site Visit experience for potential investors. The use of digital platforms by IDA staff has contributed to an enhanced digital engagement with existing clients and also in hosting E-Site visits with potential new investors. There were 20 E-site visits to Cork to end Q2 2021.