"PROMOTING FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN THE WEST" Tánaiste Launches Report of the Western Development Commission

Tánaiste Mary Harney, T.D., today (Friday, 8th October, 1999) visited Carrick-on-Shannon to launch the report of the Western Development Commission entitled "Promoting Foreign Direct Investment in the West"

Commenting on the report the Tánaiste commended the Western Development Commission on the level of research and consultation that was carried out in order to bring the Report to completion and she confirmed that the proposals, in general, put forward by the Western Development Commission would have a significant impact on the formulation of the National Development Plan (NDP).

The Tánaiste said "The Report contains a very good analysis of the developmental challenges facing the West. While it recognises the importance of foreign direct investment (FDI) to the development of the West, it is quite realistic in not expecting that greater regional balance in FDI will necessarily result by simply paying high levels of grant. Heavy investment in infrastructure and human resources are advocated in the Report as being essential to the future advancement of the Region. I can assure you that these priorities have been acknowledged in the formulation of the NDP".

"The recent thrust of IDA Ireland has been to move more towards regional development, consolidating of the existing base of overseas companies, and sectoral development. This thrust will be intensified and accelerated over the period of the new National Development Plan and as it evolves, it will result in fundamental changes in the way IDA Ireland carries out its business and in the type of results it achieves", said the Tánaiste.

She continued, "IDA Ireland with some success, has been encouraging new prospective investors to locate outside the major cities and is intensifying this emphasis on regional development in order to achieve a more even spread of employment, economic activity and wealth throughout the country. The aim must be to alleviate the inefficiencies of an over concentration of development in a limited number of locations. Many of the key regional locations identified by the Agency coincide with those mentioned in the Report".

"I am very conscious of the difficulties being encountered in the Border/ Midlands/West Region in relation to increasing employment levels in the area. These difficulties have been recognised by the EU Commission in that this Region forms part of the Objective 1 Region for development purposes and will also benefit from a relatively higher level of permitted State Aid under the new EU Regional Aid Guidelines 2000-2006." said the Tánaiste.

"For its part, the Government is committed to ensuring that there is an adequate skills supply to meet the needs of industry at all levels of the economy. It is crucial that we invest in the continuous development and training of our workforce in order to sustain our strong economic performance and to compete in global markets."

In conclusion, the Tánaiste again complemented the Commission for its work in producing the Report and said she was confident that their efforts plus those of all of the other development agencies in the Region will bring about positive results in the coming years.