Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 September 2022
80. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of IDA site visits in 2020, 2021 and to date in 2022 to Ballinasloe, County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45066/22]
View answer81. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of IDA site visits in 2020, 2021 and to date in 2022 to Athlone; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45067/22]
View answer82. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of IDA site visits in 2020, 2021 and to date in 2022 to County Roscommon; the locations visited on each occasion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45068/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 80 to 82, inclusive, together.
2021 was a record-breaking year for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) employment, with total employment in IDA client companies now standing at 275,384, up over 29,000 on 2020. Growth outside of Dublin was particularly buoyant with 53%, that is 133 projects of the 249 investments won going to regional locations and employment growth was recorded in every region of the country.
Galway and Roscommon are marketed by the IDA as the West Region. There are 120 IDA supported companies in this Region, employing 29,419 people. There are 94 IDA supported companies in Galway city and county, employing 22,801 and 10 in County Roscommon employing 1,473 in total. The FDI performance in this Region has been strong over the past five years. There is a significant ecosystem of well-established Life Sciences companies, which has helped drive strong cluster development. The number of people employed in software engineering, technical support, global business services and R&D in the Region has also grown considerably in recent years.
Athlone is in the IDA Midlands Region, where there are 49 IDA client companies, employing 6,868 people. The FDI performance in the region has been consistent over the past five years. The region has an impressive range of companies across all industry sectors, with strengths in Life Sciences, Technology, Global Business Services, International Financial Services, and Engineering & Industrial Technologies. The existing FDI base of client companies in the region continues to perform well in terms of their operational sustainability, job retention and ongoing transformation.
IDA Ireland continues to engage with new companies on promoting Ireland as a location for their business utilising virtual site visits as well as physically visiting the county. As a result of the severe restrictions on international travel over the last two years, the ability to host site visits was severely limited. IDA Ireland has developed an E-Site Visit experience for potential investors. As with in-person visits, a number of locations can be marketed within an E-Site Visit.
Site visit details are recorded on a county basis. The numbers of site visits to Counties Galway, Roscommon, and Westmeath from 2020 to Q2 2022 are set out in the table below:
|
- |
To end Q2 2022(inc E-visits) |
2021(inc E-visits) |
2020(inc E-visits) |
|
Galway |
23 |
31 |
21 |
|
Roscommon |
3 |
1 |
1 |
|
Westmeath |
13 |
20 |
14 |
