Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Regional development is at the centre of IDA Ireland's current strategy “Driving Recovery & Sustainable Growth 2021-2024”. Under this Strategy, which seeks to further enhance FDI’s place at the centre of a resilient, sustainable, and inclusive Irish economy, the IDA is targeting half of all investments to regional locations.

As the Deputy may be aware, IDA Ireland announces mid and end year results. The latest results, released in December last year, show a very strong first year of this Strategy. Highlights of IDA Ireland’s performance throughout 2021 include the creation of over 29,000 new jobs in IDA supported client companies, bringing the numbers directly employed in the multinational sector in Ireland to 275,384.

The net number of jobs created in 2021 was 16,826 demonstrating the continued resilience of the existing FDI base. In total 249 investments were won, 104 of these being new name investments.

More than half (53%) of investments won during 2021 went to regional locations with every region experiencing growth. In 2021, the South-East Region was one of the best performing regions with employment growth of 8%. There are now 79 IDA client companies in the South-East region, employing 14,932 people. The FDI performance in the region has been strong over the past five years with employment among IDA clients increasing by 25%. The main clusters in the Region are in high value manufacturing with over 10,000 jobs within the Life Science’s cluster of companies spread right across the region. The region also has important clusters in Technology, Engineering & Industrial Technologies, and International Financial Services.

From an economic impact perspective, €846 million was spent by IDA client companies on payroll during 2020; €362 million was spent on Services and Materials; and €88 million was spent on in-house R&D (2020 ABSEI).

Under their Regional Property Programme IDA delivered an advanced building solution in Waterford over the last strategy, which is now occupied. IDA committed, As part the current Strategy, to deliver an Advanced Building Solution in Waterford and complete the construction of an Advanced Building Solution in Carlow, both of these projects are currently at construction stage.

The IDA is also currently working with Wexford County Council with a view to seeking advance planning permission for an Advanced Technology Building in Wexford to advance the location from an attractiveness perspective.

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. I expect the IDA's 2022 mid-year results to be announced in June.