Rural areas being allowed to fall behind in terms of job creation
It has been accused of failing to provide infrastructure to allow all centres compete for inward investment.
Fianna Fáil’s finance spokesman Michael McGrath made the claim after it emerged over half the IDA-sponsored site visits were in Dublin, alone.
Department of Enterprise figures showed of the 1,090 IDA-backed visits between 2013 and to date in 2015, a total of 654 were in Dublin and Cork. Dublin alone accounted for 561 of the visits.
Furthermore, over the 2012-2015 time period examined, 12 counties had fewer than 10 visits — Monaghan and Cavan had the lowest of any, at just three.
In 2010, as part of the Government’s Horizon 2020 strategy, the IDA’s chief executive Barry O’Leary said the aim was for 50% of investments to be located outside Dublin and Cork.
Five years later, 60% of the site visits which would facilitate that investment are still in Dublin and Cork.
“The Government is failing miserably to achieve any degree of regional balance in attracting inward investment into the country,” said Deputy McGrath.
“The number of IDA sponsored site visits is one measure, another is where the jobs are created and the overwhelming majority of jobs being created at the moment are in the greater Dublin area.”
He said a major issue was now emerging with the population increasingly drifting towards the east coast and greater Dublin area placing pressure there on office accommodation, housing, education and health services.
“Then other parts of the country are draining population and associated services that come with that,” he said. “There is a need for a review to achieve some regional balance in the spread of inward investment.
“I accept that it is not easy to get multinational companies to more remote locations but I don’t believe enough of an effort is being made.”
The Cork South-Central TD said there was a lack of political will to encourage investors to look at counties currently “not getting much of a look-in when it comes to inward investment”.
“That lack of will is evidence by the failure to invest in a proper motorway between Cork and Limerick, the failure to deliver high speed broadband to more remote locations,” he said. “When you look at the factors which companies consider — the availability of skilled labour, good infrastructure such as road networks and broadband.”
Jobs Minister Richard Bruton pointed out that while IDA “actively incentivises and encourages” investors to consider a range of potential locations, “the ultimate decision on location rests with the client”.
He said part of the IDA’s strategy for the next five years was regional development and a commitment to achieving a “significant uplift in the amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) going into regions”.
“As part of this strategy, IDA Ireland will roll out a €150 million property investment plan over five years that will support the achievement of the organisation’s regional goals,” he said.
