IDA Ireland chief executive Mr Sean Dorgan is confident that the agency will report a rise in employment levels at companies it supports in 2002. But he cautioned that employment growth would be well short of the strong levels of the recent past - and closer to the 4 to 5 per cent growth achieved in the mid-1990s.

While jobs in IDA-supported companies - at just over 137,000 - represent a small proportion of the approximately 1.7 million people at work, the companies concerned are at the higher value end of employment, account for annual exports of more than €47 billion (£37 billion) and have annual direct expenditure in the Irish economy of more than €14 billion. There are more than 1,200 IDA-supported companies in the Irish market.

In 2001, the agency agreed to support some 40 new and expansion projects. Mr Dorgan said the type of investment now on offer to Ireland was changing, to show a trend towards higher value manufacturing and service-based activities, which require continuing improvement in education, skills and infrastructure - particularly in regional locations.

IDA had "a reasonable pipeline" of investment projects in the healthcare, biotechnology and international services sectors, and expected to secure a number of these next year, according to Mr Dorgan.

He was adamant that key regional centres needed to be created if balanced growth was to be achieved across the country.

Regional growth was the key priority of the IDA, but required the creation of key centres comprising critical mass of population that lead to the provision of high levels of infrastructure and services which, in turn, attracts higher levels of economic activity, he said.

During 2001, Mr Dorgan said employment increased in 10 counties - Cavan, Leitrim, Mayo, Longford, Westmeath, Tipperary, Cork, Kerry, Waterford and Wicklow. Dublin accounted for almost half the IDA-sponsored jobs lost during the year.