Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 November 2013
407. Deputy Brendan Ryan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of times since January 2012 that companies looking to invest in Ireland have been shown industrial units in an area (details supplied) in County Dublin as potential sites to set up business; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46707/13]
View answerI am informed by IDA Ireland that the data on site visits by potential investors is tracked on a county by county basis. Balbriggan is part of county Dublin and, in the period from January 2012 to date, there have been a total of 372 site visits by potential investors to the Dublin area – City and County.As Ireland competes for high quality investments, the concept of scale is crucial. Leading global corporations require a significant population pool, access to qualified talent, world standard physical and digital infrastructure coupled with the availability of sophisticated professional and business support services. Dublin is recognized as one of Europe’s leading business locations and has been a spectacular success in terms of Foreign Direct Investment as it hosts many of the world’s leading companies such as Google, eBay, PayPal, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Oracle, Pfizer, Amgen, IBM, Citi and Accenture.
There are 511 IDA client companies employing 60,793 people in permanent employment and a further 5,449 in part-time and contract positions in Dublin City and County. Dublin traditionally has been a centre for manufacturing industry for FDI but in recent years there has been a shift away from manufacturing (due to cost competitiveness) to more knowledge based higher value added projects in fund management, e-Commerce, Software and high-end back office. To support this development IDA is working closely with educational authorities.
As is evidenced with IDA Ireland investment announcements over the past number of years, a significant number of investments locate in Dublin each year. A typical example of the type of investment being announced for Dublin is the announcement on 18th February 2013 that Facebook, Inc. is to create more than 100 new jobs at its international HQ, Facebook Ireland, updating its status to 500 jobs in Dublin as it continues its current phase of expansion. The company currently employs around 400 people in a broad range of roles including user operations, advertising, sales, policy and safety.
