Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 December 2018
264. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of IDA Ireland visits over the past 12 months; and if she is satisfied with the level of foreign direct investment in County Meath. [51679/18]
View answerIDA Ireland continues to highlight the benefits of expanding or locating in all counties of Ireland to its client base. It is important to remember, however, that the final decision as to where to invest always rests with the company concerned. It is also the case that site visit activity does not necessarily reflect investment potential, as almost 70% of all new foreign direct investment comes from existing IDA client companies.
The IDA, for its part, is actively promoting Meath as a location for investment to its prospective and existing clients. County Meath has hosted five IDA site visits so far this year, compared to three site visits for 2017. The IDA also has a number of locations available for investment in Meath which are being marketed to its clients. These include lands at the Business & Technology Parks in Navan and at Donore Road on the Meath side of Drogheda. I am hopeful that more investors can be encouraged to locate in Meath and thereby contribute even more to job creation in the County.
Meath is already home to a number of overseas companies who have shown a significant level of commitment the County, with companies such as International Fund Services (IFS) Limited, Arcroyal and Alltech continuing to perform well. In April of this year, PCI Pharma Services announced the launch of its new facility in Stamullen which will create 50 new jobs over the next five years.
The following table sets out the number of IDA Ireland site visits to each County in Quarter 1, Quarter 2 and Quarter 3 of 2018.
|
County |
Q1 2018 |
Q2 2018 |
Q3 2018 |
|
Dublin |
69 |
72 |
68 |
|
Kildare |
4 |
0 |
1 |
|
Meath |
1 |
3 |
1 |
|
Wicklow |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Laois |
4 |
2 |
1 |
|
Longford |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
Offaly |
0 |
1 |
3 |
|
Westmeath |
3 |
9 |
6 |
|
Clare |
4 |
3 |
2 |
|
Limerick |
8 |
7 |
10 |
|
Tipperary |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
Cavan |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Louth |
6 |
6 |
3 |
|
Monaghan |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Donegal |
0 |
3 |
3 |
|
Leitrim |
2 |
3 |
0 |
|
Sligo |
5 |
3 |
4 |
|
Carlow |
1 |
2 |
0 |
|
Kilkenny |
0 |
2 |
1 |
|
Waterford |
5 |
9 |
5 |
|
Wexford |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
Cork |
10 |
14 |
21 |
|
Kerry |
0 |
5 |
3 |
|
Galway |
10 |
20 |
12 |
|
Mayo |
2 |
2 |
3 |
|
Roscommon |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
Total |
135 |
172 |
154 |
