Waterford is at the bottom of the list for IDA site visits when compared to four other major Irish cities between 2012 and 2021.
Figures provided by the South East Economic Monitor outline that there were 166 site visits from the IDA to the Deise over a ten year period, which was less than half of the number of site visits in Galway, Limerick, Cork and Dublin.
There were just 8 site visits to Waterford in 2021 - with the other four counties having at least four times as many visits.
Over the ten years, Waterford (166) had just 7.3% in comparison to the number of visits to Dublin (2,261) - while there was also less than half of the visits to Cork (37%); Limerick (46%) and Galway (48%).
2012 was the only year that Waterford did not have the lowest number of visits of the five counties in question.
The leader of the Sinn Féin group on Waterford Council, Councillor Conor D. McGuinness has hit out at what he calls an ‘embedded imbalance’ when it comes to IDA interventions.
Waterford received just eight site visits from the IDA in 2021, compared to 31 for Galway, 37 for Limerick, 44 for Cork and 153 for Dublin.
The mission of the IDA is to attract inward investment and to create jobs. Site visits are an essential and proven part of the IDA’s strategy to bring investment and jobs into a given area.
McGuinness said:
“There is a staggering double standard at play when it comes to intervention by the IDA. Of the five cities in the state, Waterford is clearly at the bottom of the list. Galway is second from the bottom but received almost four times as many site visits as Waterford in the same period. Limerick received over four times as many and Cork over five times as many visits during 2021. Site visits are important because they bring investors into an area to showcase merits of locations to companies considering investing or expanding existing operations. They are a proven method of attracting investment and jobs into a specific area."
Cllr. McGuinness said while the figures are alarming - it is a case of 'nothing new'.
“This trend isn’t new, in fact a review of the data over the last decade suggests that the imbalance has become firmly embedded in the IDA’s outlook. The indifference and neglect shown to Waterford City and County by successive Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil governments has created a culture where Waterford is seen as an afterthought when it comes to investment. When visits to Kilkenny, Wexford and Carlow are factored in, the 2021 total for the entire South East region is still half the amount of visits received by Limerick last year. The South East is still the poor relation when it comes to securing investment and creating jobs. We need to see a change in attitude when it comes to Waterford and the South East. It’s clear that neither the political establishment parties nor their local representatives have the interest or the ability to deliver that change.”
