Dáil Éireann Debate, Friday - 16 September 2016
1858. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if, in the context of the Industrial Development Agency’s Horizon 2020 strategy and the target that 50% of investments will be located outside Dublin and Cork, the number of the Agency's sponsored visits to Dublin that also visited Cork; and the number of the agency's sponsored visits to Cork that also visited Dublin since 2012. [24348/16]
View answerThere were 968 visits to Dublin and 176 visits to Cork during the period 2012 to 2016 (Q2). Some companies depending on their requirements may visit both Dublin and Cork on the same itinerary or choose to visit one county or the other. IDA Ireland cannot provide details on clients’ itineraries for reasons of client confidentiality. A breakdown of these visits is set out in the following table.
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 Government’s commitment to countrywide job creation is further illustrated by the Regional Action Plan for Jobs initiative. This initiative saw eight Plans published throughout 2015 and 2016, which identified a range of actions aimed at supporting each region to achieve its economic potential and raise employment levels.
While IDA Ireland does attempt to influence the choice of location, the final decision as to where to visit and ultimately locate is taken in all cases by the client company.
It is important to note that data on site visits is not an accurate measure of the level of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) activity in a region or county. That is partly because approximately 70% of all FDI investment won by IDA Ireland comes from its existing client base, rather than new companies.
The true measure of FDI is reflected in IDA Ireland’s record 2015 results. IDA Ireland client companies created just under 19,000 (18,983) jobs on the ground during the year across a range of sectors, with every region of Ireland posting net gains in jobs.
Table shows the number of site visits by potential investors to Dublin and Cork from 2012 to 2016 (Q2)
|
Year |
Dublin |
Cork |
|
2012 |
196 |
38 |
|
2013 |
180 |
31 |
|
2014 |
205 |
30 |
|
2015 |
242 |
48 |
|
2016 (end Q2) |
145 |
29 |
