Vol. 511 No. 6
135 Mr. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she has satisfied herself with the continued attractiveness of Ireland as an investment location; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25394/99]
Ireland continues to remain an attractive location for overseas investment. Overseas companies have more than doubled their annual rate of job creation in the last ten years. In 1998 a total of nearly 16,000 jobs were created by IDA Ireland backed companies – the highest ever job creation outcome in one year.
The basic reasons for this success are our stable climate of social partnership, a favourable tax environment for overseas companies, an adequate supply of skilled, relatively young and well educated labour, a good telecommunications infrastructure, a generous system of grant assistance by the IDA and deregulation of certain sectors.
I am satisfied that Ireland can continue to be an attractive location for overseas companies. The main reasons for this are Government plans for continued investment in our infrastructural base and the continued stability of our economy.
There is no room for complacency in this matter as there are a number of competitiveness issues facing us as we approach the next century. Labour shortages are increasingly appearing in a range of employments and skill shortages could act as a serious constraint on future growth. Other factors also have a bearing on investment location, such as housing market problems, quality of telecommunications facilities, costs generally and, very importantly, the need to maintain and enhance social partnership. The Government is actively addressing all these issues and is determined to ensure that Ireland will maintain its competitiveness and its attractiveness as an investment location over the coming years.
