Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 January 2015
244. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide a breakdown in tabular form the number of Industrial Development Agency site visits to each county in 2014; and If he will identify the number of repeat visits. [3869/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have been informed by IDA Ireland that in 2014 there were a total of 359 IDA Ireland-sponsored site visits by potential investors to various locations throughout the country. The following tabular statement sets out on a county by county basis the number of Ireland-sponsored site visits in 2014. For reasons of client confidentiality and commercial sensitivity, IDA Ireland does not differentiate between first time visits and repeat visits.
IDA Ireland is currently in the process of finalising its new strategy for the coming 5 years and is conscious of the need to secure investments and jobs for all regions of the country over the lifetime of the strategy.
Growing both Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and indigenous enterprise is key to Ireland’s economic recovery. I am glad to inform the Deputy that 2014 was a record year for both IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland in terms of investment wins and job creation, with 7,131 net new jobs being created in IDA Ireland client companies and 8,476 net new jobs being created in Enterprise Ireland client companies.
As Minister for Jobs Enterprise and Innovation, I introduced a collaborative, cross government approach to advancing job creation in the State. The Action Plan for Jobs is an annual plan designed to drive action across all Government Departments and Agencies in a collective effort to put in place the conditions needed to support and grow enterprise in the State.
As I have said on more than one occasion, I have been working with my Department on the development of a framework for the formulation of Regional Enterprise Strategies that will enable us to identify the sustainable competitive strengths of each region and to better integrate the efforts of the enterprise development agencies and other regional stakeholders in supporting enterprise growth and jobs in areas of potential, which I hope to publish shortly.
It is my intention that the Regional strategy will be rolled out firstly in the Midlands before being rolled out in other regions and will include specific actions and targets on the part of my Department, the enterprise development agencies and other public bodies to promote enterprise growth and job creation in the region.
Number of IDA Ireland sponsored Site Visits by potential investors on a county by county basis in 2014
|
County |
Site Visits |
|
Carlow |
2 |
|
Cavan |
1 |
|
Clare |
9 |
|
Cork |
30 |
|
Donegal |
6 |
|
Dublin |
205 |
|
Galway |
19 |
|
Kerry |
3 |
|
Kildare |
1 |
|
Kilkenny |
4 |
|
Laois |
0 |
|
Leitrim |
2 |
|
Limerick |
22 |
|
Longford |
0 |
|
Louth |
10 |
|
Mayo |
4 |
|
Meath |
2 |
|
Monaghan |
0 |
|
Offaly |
1 |
|
Roscommon |
0 |
|
Sligo |
7 |
|
Tipperary |
3 |
|
Waterford |
11 |
|
Westmeath |
12 |
|
Wexford |
1 |
|
Wicklow |
4 |
