Revealed: Three IDA site visits held in Carlow during first three months of this year

There were three IDA site visits in Carlow during the first three months of this year, new figures have revealed. 

Fianna Fáil's Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation for the number of IDA site visits in each county in the first quarter of 2019.

Minister Heather Humphreys provided figures which revealed that Carlow had three site visits.

She said: "IDA Ireland hosted 159 site visits as of the first quarter of 2019, with almost 65% of these visits taking place in regional locations. 

"Whilst site visits are an important tool in helping showcase regional locations to investors, it is important to remember - as I have made clear before - that the final decision as to where to invest rests solely with the company concerned."

Read also: Revealed: Only seven IDA site visits for 2018 were in Carlow, says local Senator

The Minister added: "It is also the case that site visit activity does not necessarily reflect investment potential, as a significant proportion of all new foreign direct investment (FDI) comes from existing IDA clients already present in the country.

"More broadly, creating more jobs in the regions will remain a top priority for both the IDA and my Department in 2019 as we seek to build on the progress made over the last number of years.

"In 2018, for example, the IDA delivered 113 regional investments with 56% of net new jobs created outside Dublin. The last four years have seen 44,500 new FDI-driven jobs generated outside the capital."

A full breakdown of the visits is below:

County

Q1 2019

Carlow

3

Cavan

1

Clare

5

Cork

17

Donegal

Dublin

56

Galway

9

Kerry

Kildare

Kilkenny

Laois

2

Leitrim

Limerick

12

Longford

Louth

10

Mayo

Meath

Monaghan

Offaly

Roscommon

Sligo

8

Tipperary

Waterford

Westmeath

6

Wexford

Wicklow

4

Total

159