Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 255 and 256 together.

Attracting foreign direct Investment (FDI) and the pursuit of balanced regional development remain key priorities for my Department and for IDA Ireland.

248 investments were won in 2023, 83 of which were new name investments from companies investing in Ireland for the first time and 67 were expansions by companies already established here. Moreover,

19,000 new jobs were created in FDI companies in 2023, with the total number of people employed in the FDI sector in Ireland standing at 300,583, holding above 300,000 jobs for the second consecutive year. These results illustrate the continued substantial growth in FDI in 2023 despite a difficult global economic environment.

The IDA is targeting at least half of all investments - that is 400 of 800 - from 2021 to 2024 to regional locations. Of the 248 investments won in 2023, 132 went to regional locations, which is 53% of all projects and 56% of all jobs approved. IDA clients now employ 163,471 people regionally, which represents 54% of client employment.

The strong growth in regional investment was supported by IDA Ireland’s property programme as a robust property and infrastructure ecosystem has been shown to be an important differentiator in winning FDI projects.

The table below details the number of FDI investments won by IDA Ireland over the past five years, including in the regions.

	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Investments won	250	246	249	242	248
Investments won in the regions	110	128	133	127	132

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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IDA is now in the final year of its current strategy Driving Recovery and Sustainable Growth Strategy for 2021-2024and is focused on delivering on its targets of

• 800 investments with 50% outside Dublin,
• 50,000 additional jobs and increased economic activity,
• 170 RD&I investments,
• 130 training investments
• 60 sustainability investments, and
• a 20% increase in client expenditure in Ireland to maximise the impact of FDI.

248 investments won by IDA Ireland in 2023, reflecting the continued attractiveness of Ireland as a location for FDI and an enduring commitment amongst FDI companies and confidence in Ireland as a location in which to make complex, innovative, and impactful investments at scale. There were 132 regional investments in 2023 which represents 53% of all projects and 56% of all jobs approved. IDA clients now employ 163,471 people regionally, which represents 54% of client employment.

These investments are delivering sustained levels of highly skilled employment across the country with 1,800 IDA client companies directly employing more than 300,000 in Ireland for the second consecutive year, against a backdrop of the global tech reset and severe global challenges including global inflation, changing industrial policy, and ongoing geopolitical disruption across the world. Employment in FDI companies now accounts for some 11.3% of the workforce. Additionally, my Department estimates that for every 10 jobs generated by FDI directly, another eight are created in the wider economy. This translates to over 540,000 direct and indirect jobs supported by FDI at the end of 2023 – almost 1/5^thof the workforce.

The Annual Business Survey of Economic Impact (ABSEI) conducted by my Department includes data on the impact of IDA Ireland client companies on the Irish economy. In this regard, in additional to the employment figures already quoted, expenditure within the economy by FDI companies increased during 2022 despite challenging conditions. Payroll was up 12% to €22.1bn, Irish services and materials spend increased by 15.7% to €13.8bn, and capital expenditure was up 49% to €15.5bn. Exports of €383.1bn represent an increase of 11.2% year-on-year. Between 2020-2022 direct expenditure in Irish economy by IDA clients increased by 24.0% from €28.9 billion to €35.8 billion.

These results reinforce the scale of the contribution of FDI to Ireland and the role that inward investment continues to play in providing jobs and opportunity for people right across the country. While they are reassuring in the context of an increasingly challenging and competitive global environment for enterprise and for FDI, Government recognises that Ireland must stay agile and ambitious to win investment as we pursue implementation of the policy mix articulated in the White Paper on Enterprise. To these ends, IDA Ireland’s focus remains on winning investment for Ireland, building partnerships with client companies and supporting them in their growth & transformation as they build competitiveness, grow, and further embed themselves in Ireland.

As requested by the Deputy, the table below details the Direct Expenditure in the Irish Economy (Payroll, Irish Materials, Irish Services) of IDA Ireland companies. In this regard, overall direct expenditure in the Irish Economy by IDA Ireland companies has increased year-on-year over the 5-year period from 2018 to 2022 (please note figures for 2023 are not currently available, 2022 are the most recent figures available).

	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Investments won	250	246	249	242	248
Investments won in the regions	110	128	133	127	132

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The answer to this PQ is deferred to allow for clarification with agencies under the remit of the Department.

My Department will supply the information requested once it has been collated.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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There are currently 63 WRC Inspectors, comprising 55 EO Inspectors and 8 Inspector Team Managers (ITM) at the HEO level. Additionally, there are 6 vacancies at the EO Inspector level and 1 ITM

Workforce planning has identified a requirement for an additional 10 Inspectors, bringing the total number of WRC Inspectors to 80. My Department continually plans recruitment campaigns to fill all Departmental vacancies including those at the WRC. An internal competition to identify suitable candidates for assignment as a WRC Inspector occurred during December 2023, and further plans are being finalised to recruit Inspectors for all regions during 2024.

All WRC Inspectors are required to provide a minimum notice period of one month of their intention to retire. My Department has been notified of one upcoming inspector retirement to take place during 2024.

It should be noted by the Deputy that retirement age under the Public Service Superannuation Schemes and Acts varies depending on the date of entry to the civil or public service. The range of options for retirement can vary from age 50 under the Cost Neutral Early Retirement Scheme to compulsory retirement age of 70 for those who joined the civil or public service before 2004 and on or after 1 January 2013.

For civil and public servants whose superannuation terms are in accordance with the The Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) 2004 Act. This Act removed the compulsory retirement age for certain categories of new entrants. These public servants who are deemed to be ‘New Entrants’ in accordance with 2004 Act generally have a minimum pension age of 65 and have no compulsory retirement age. Those public servants who are deemed not to be ‘New Entrants’ in accordance with the 2004 Act generally have a minimum pension age of 60 and a compulsory retirement age of 70. Members of the Single Public Service Pension Scheme have a minimum retirement at of 66 but must retire at 70.

My Department engages with annual workforce plan exercises to ensure that effective succession planning is underway for all areas of the Department including at the Workplace Relations Commission.