Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 June 2016
546. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of IDA Ireland visits over each of the past ten years to Longford, Tullamore, Athlone and Mullingar, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18112/16]
View answerI am informed by IDA Ireland that, for reasons of client confidentiality and commercial sensitivity, the Agency collects data on site visits on a county basis only. The number of site visits for Longford, Offaly and Westmeath for the years 2006 to 2015 inclusive and the numbers for the first quarter of 2016 are following.
Since 2015 IDA Ireland has been working towards targets set out in their strategy “Winning - Foreign Direct Investment 2015-2019”. For the first time, under this strategy, ambitious investment targets have been set on a regional basis whereby the Agency aims to increase the level of investment by between 30% to 40% in each region. The new strategy is already showing promise. In 2015, the number of site visits to all three counties, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath, more than doubled when compared to 2014.
The Government is committed to achieving balanced regional development. Over the course of 2015 and early 2016, my Department published eight Regional Action Plans for Jobs, including a plan for the Midlands. The key sectors in the regions targeted in the plan include manufacturing, tourism, food and energy. Actions to be delivered over the period 2015-2017 include:
- A series of actions to promote 25% more start-ups in the midlands, including extra funding, mentoring programmes and establishing new incubator spaces for entrepreneurs like Offaly Innovation Centre (The Junction) in Tullamore,
- A series of actions aimed at attracting at least 25 additional multinational investment projects to the region by 2019, including building two advance facilities for Athlone, Appointing an IDA Ireland Regional Manager for the Midlands,
- Ensuring that key Agency personnel overseas have enhanced knowledge and marketing plans for the region,
- Establishing a Midlands manufacturing technologies campus.
The first Progress Report on the implementation of the Plan, covering the period to end-June 2016, will be completed and published in Q3 2016.
Site Visits by County 2006-2015 – Longford, Offaly and Westmeath
|
County |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
Longford |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
Offaly |
1 |
4 |
11 |
6 |
7 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
|
Westmeath |
16 |
18 |
18 |
14 |
22 |
15 |
7 |
9 |
12 |
28 |
Site Visits by County Q1 2016 – Longford, Offaly and Westmeath
|
County |
Q1 2016 |
|
Longford |
1 |
|
Offaly |
1 |
|
Westmeath |
9 |
