Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 February 2019
115. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which Ireland remains an attractive country for foreign direct investment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10204/19]
View answer116. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the steps which can be taken to ensure continued foreign direct investment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10205/19]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 115 and 116 together.
Ireland continues to perform very strongly in terms of attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), with 229,057 people now employed in IDA Ireland client companies here. FDI flows into the country have been particularly significant in recent years with pronounced growth in total job numbers and investment projects.
I am pleased to say that significant progress is also being made in increasing FDI in the regions, with 58% of all IDA employment now outside of Dublin. This represents the highest number of people employed by IDA clients outside the capital in the history of the Agency. 2018 also saw more IDA-supported jobs added in the regions than at any time over the past 17 years.
The Government is nevertheless very much conscious of our need to remain as competitive as possible in FDI terms. We are working to retain and promote our competitive advantages and to secure new investment projects. That means improving on our already compelling and attractive offering for multinationals to invest here. These include our stable and competitive corporation tax regime, the long established pro-enterprise policy environment in this jurisdiction and our country's highly-educated workforce.
Through Project Ireland 2040, Government is committed to delivering a step-up in investment in road, energy, water and broadband infrastructure and in education and research facilities. Investment levels in Ireland will continue to increase at a sustainable rate and, very importantly, our infrastructure investment will allow our companies and economy to continue to compete with the best in the world.
By reinforcing these strengths and others, I am confident we will be able to continue attracting more investment by overseas companies for years to come.
