*Quin Rd Business Park. Photograph: Páraic McMahon
CO CLARE last year recorded 19 IDA backed site visits by potential overseas investors which was down slightly on the 21 total for 2024, new figures show.
In statistics provided by the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke TD (FG) they show that the number of IDA site visits nationally last year increased by 10 percent or 48 from 466 to 514.
Figures for Co Clare are the lowest since 2020 when a total of sixteen IDA visits were recorded. The marginal drop from 2024 to 2025 is from 4.5 percent to 3.7 percent.
The figures show that Dublin continues to dominate the IDA facilitated site visit table accounting for 247 or 48 percent of total site visits in 2025.
Dublin city and county’s 48 percent share was marginally up on its 47.4 percent share or 221 visits in 2024.
Cork was the second highest ranked county in terms of IDA-backed site visits accounting for 60 or 11.7 percent or overall site visits for 2025 followed by Galway at 8 percent or 40 visits and Limerick at 33 or 6 percent share of all visits.
In the written Dáil reply, Minister Burke told Waterford TD David Cullinane (SF) that his own Waterford area was ranked 5th accounting for 20 visits or 4 percent followed by Clare and Westmeath each on 19 or 3.7 percent of overall visits.
The figures for the last 10 years of IDA facilitated site visits show that the 514 total for 2025 was the first year this decade that the IDA has recorded in excess of 500 site visits by overseas investors.
The last year that the IDA recorded more visits was in 2019 when 700 visits were made.
The one visit each last year to the three counties, Leitrim, Mayo and Wicklow in 2025 followed the same pattern of only one IDA backed visit to the three counties in 2024.
This decade, Leitrim has been the worst performer generating seven IDA backed visits by potential overseas investors since the start of 2020.
Other counties to record five or less IDA-backed site visits in 2025 are Kildare, Offaly (all 5), Donegal (4) Longford, Roscommon, Kerry, Tipperary (all 3) and Monaghan, Meath and Cavan (all 2).
In his written Dáil reply, Minister Burke cautioned that in interpreting the figures, it should be noted that potential clients may visit more than one county and may return to a location more than once and the figures represent individual visits and therefore, may not be indicative of the number of companies that have visited.
Minister Burke stated that it should also be noted that site visits may not necessarily be a true measure of the overall level of FDI activity in a region or county and are only one measure of a company’s interest in a particular location and naturally, year-on-year, the number of visits to any location will vary.
He said, “I must also stress that, ultimately, individual investors decide which counties to visit, and where to locate their investments”.
Minister Burke also pointed out that the availability of suitable property and strategic sites is a critical component of the regional value proposition and can be the key differentiator in investment decisions in the regions from both new and existing clients.
