Written answers
Tuesday, 29 July 2025
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Regional Development
Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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861. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the total number of IDA visits, the total number of IDA-supported companies and the total number of employees in those IDA-supported companies, in each county, for each of the years 2015 to 2024 and to date in 2025. [40810/25]
Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Regional development is a key focus of our Programme for Government and is central to the work of my Department and our Enterprise Development Agencies. In that regard, regional development is a strategic imperative for the IDA who partners with client companies and key stakeholders in all regions in pursuit of its objective to maximise regional opportunities.
Investments by IDA Ireland client companies consistently generate highly skilled jobs nationwide. IDA Ireland’s portfolio now comprises more than 1,800 clients across a diverse range of sectors in every county in Ireland. The 2024 IDA Annual Report, which I launched on July 2nd, showed employment levels within the FDI sector remain above 300,000 for the third consecutive year. The 2024 employment figure of 302,566 represented a slight increase (0.2%) in client employment over 2023 and accounted for 10.8% of overall national employment.
As requested, the total number of IDA visits, for each of the years 2015 to 2024, and to Q1 in 2025 is shown in the table below, Q2-2025 figures are being collated and verified and will be available next month.
| County | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 (Q1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlow | 1 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| Cavan | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| Clare | 12 | 18 | 22 | 13 | 28 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 40 | 21 | 4 |
| Cork | 48 | 49 | 51 | 61 | 68 | 30 | 44 | 45 | 39 | 41 | 10 |
| Donegal | 5 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| Dublin | 242 | 284 | 327 | 269 | 284 | 121 | 153 | 201 | 173 | 221 | 58 |
| Galway | 41 | 42 | 62 | 54 | 46 | 21 | 31 | 40 | 38 | 34 | 7 |
| Kerry | 6 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 1 |
| Kildare | 7 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| Kilkenny | 10 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 0 |
| Laois | 4 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| Leitrim | 8 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Limerick | 40 | 49 | 42 | 35 | 57 | 26 | 37 | 48 | 52 | 38 | 8 |
| Longford | 2 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Louth | 20 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 40 | 14 | 10 | 16 | 11 | 7 | 2 |
| Mayo | 3 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Meath | 7 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Monaghan | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Offaly | 8 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| Roscommon | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| Sligo | 15 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 29 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 2 |
| Tipperary | 12 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 1 |
| Waterford | 31 | 17 | 11 | 21 | 18 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 18 | 2 |
| Westmeath | 28 | 36 | 42 | 22 | 22 | 14 | 20 | 20 | 13 | 18 | 5 |
| Wexford | 4 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| Wicklow | 7 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
The IDA has highlighted to me that site visits are only one measure of a company’s interest in a particular location and may not necessarily be a true measure of the overall level of foreign direct investment (FDI) activity in a region or county. For example, 70% of FDI won by IDA Ireland in 2024 came from its existing client base, rather than new companies. Also, potential clients visiting Ireland may visit more than one county and may return to a location more than once. The figures given, therefore, represent individual visits and are not indicative of the number of companies that have visited.
I would also highlight that the final decision on where to locate an investment is always decided by the client, and not by IDA Ireland, and it can take many years to convert from initial site visit to final project proposal. Regular engagement and collaboration with stakeholders are important in positioning any regional location to attract FDI and, in this respect, IDA Ireland continues to engage with stakeholders as well as working with existing clients in all regional locations to generate additional employment.
The table at the following link sets out the total number of IDA supported companies and the total number of employees in those IDA supported companies, in each county, for each of the years 2015 to 2024. Data for 2025 will be available at the end of December 2025.
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