Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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93. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of IDA site visits in counties Clare, Galway, Limerick and Tipperary in 2020 and 2021, by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1730/22]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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IDA Ireland reported a record-breaking year for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) employment in 2021, with total employment in IDA client companies now standing at 275,384, up from 258,558 last year. Growth in the regions was particularly buoyant with 53% - 133 projects of the 249 investments won going to regional locations and employment growth recorded in every region of the country.

Job losses remained at a relatively modest level relative to the size of the overall portfolio resulting in an extremely strong net employment growth, with a 16,826 net increase.

The strong growth in regional investment was supported by IDA Ireland’s property programme. A robust property and infrastructure ecosystem can be the key differentiator in winning FDI projects, as evidenced by the record regional results achieved under IDA’s Winning 2015-2019 strategy.

The 2021 figures show a pattern of sustained, robust growth in FDI investment and FDI-related employment over a continuous period of more than ten-years. The results in 2021 represent a strong start to IDA’s new 2021-2024 strategy, Driving Recovery and Sustainable Growth, which seeks to further enhance FDI’s place at the centre of a resilient, sustainable, and inclusive Irish economy. 

As the Deputy is aware, in response to COVID, the IDA migrated many of its business development and client engagement activities to digital platforms. The Agency has put in place an E-Site Visit experience for potential investors.  Site visits to end Q3 2021 are shown below: