Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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85. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will provide an update on the progress made to date in the implementation in the Midlands region of the IDA Strategy - Driving Recovery & Sustainable Growth 2021 – 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24976/22]

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”. Of the target 800 investments in the Strategy, half are targeted at regional locations.

As the Deputy may be aware, IDA Ireland announces mid and end year results. The latest results, released last December, 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.

There are now close to 1,700 multinational operations supported by IDA in Ireland accounting directly for 11% of the Irish workforce. Their impact nationally and regionally to public finances, regional development, global value chain integration, spin-off indigenous enterprise, innovation can be seen in their expenditure in the Irish economy.

More than half (53%) of investments won during 2021 went to regional locations with every region experiencing growth.

The Midland Region covers counties Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath. There are 49 IDA client companies in the Midlands region supporting 6,868 jobs directly and 5,494 jobs indirectly. Employment in IDA client companies grew by 10% growth in the region in 2021. The Midlands was the best performing region in 2021 in terms of percentage jobs growth across IDA companies.

FDI performance and growth in the region has been consistent over the past five years, with employment among IDA clients increasing by 43% over that time. The Midlands has an impressive range of companies across all industry sectors, with strengths in Life Sciences, Technology, Global Business Services, International Financial Services, and Engineering & Industrial Technologies. This portfolio of multinational companies is hugely significant to the region and today the Midlands has become a key strategic base for global companies of scale

From an economic impact perspective, it is estimated that IDA Client companies spent €402 million on payroll during 2020 with €126 million spent on Services and Materials and €92 million spent on in-house R&D (2020 ABSEI).

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.