Written answers

Tuesday, 29 July 2025

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Regional Development

Photo of Malcolm ByrneMalcolm 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]

Photo of Peter BurkePeter 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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