Written Answers Nos. 131-145
132. Deputy James Lawless asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will report on the implementation of insurance reform measures under the remit of his Department for 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60846/21]
View answer162. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the actions his Department is taking under the Action Plan for Insurance Reform. [60814/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 132 and 162 together.
Insurance reform is one of my top priorities as Minister of State in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The Cabinet Committee Sub-Group on Insurance Reform, of which I am a member, published the Action Plan for Insurance Reform in December 2020. This is one of the most important programmes of reform that this Government will undertake.
Regarding actions under the aegis of my Department, I am developing proposals to enhance and reform the Personal Injuries Assessment Board. Heads of a Bill have been developed in consultation with PIAB, which I am considering in consultation with the Attorney General’s Office. I expect to bring proposals for legislative reform to Government shortly.
I am also progressing legislation to strengthen competition law in Ireland. The legislation will break new ground in this area, giving competition authorities, such as the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), enhanced powers including administrative sanctions and other tools in dealing with anti-competitive practices.
An Office to Promote Competition in the Insurance Market has been established within the Department of Finance, supported by my Department which is chaired by Minister Fleming. The work of the Office includes engaging with sectoral stakeholders to understand gaps in the insurance market, with a view to expanding the risk appetite of existing insurers. It is also working with IDA Ireland to explore opportunities for new entrants to increase the availability of insurance.
Early implementation of these actions will remain a priority issue for my Department in the coming months.
133. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of the remote working strategy. [60661/21]
View answerMy Department published the National Remote Work Strategy on January 15th, 2021. The objective of the Strategy is to ensure that remote work is a permanent feature in the Irish workplace in a way that maximises economic, social and environmental benefits.
My Department is leading the implementation of the Strategy’s 15 actions through an Interdepartmental Group. There has been significant progress in implementing these actions which will facilitate hybrid working. I would highlight the following:
- The publication of the Code of Practice on the Right to Disconnect in April 2021 by the Workplace Relations Commission.
- A public consultation was held on the Right to Request Remote Work. Informed by this and by a review of international best practice, the drafting of the General Scheme of the Bill is at an advanced stage. I anticipate I will be in a position to seek Cabinet approval for the drafting of Heads of a Bill shortly.
- ConnectedHubs.ie - Ireland’s first national digital hub network - was launched by the Department of Rural and Community Development at the end of May . ConnectedHubs.ie will ultimately link over 400 hubs throughout the country.
- The Connected Hubs Call has awarded funding of €8.9m to 117 remote working hub projects in July to upgrade Ireland’s remote work infrastructure.
- While National Broadband Plan has been impacted negatively by COVID-19, the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications is continuing to engage with National Broadband Ireland to address the delays that have arisen to ensure that the programme gets back on track and is building momentum month on month.
- The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform have been working with employers across the Civil and Public Service to develop a Blended Working Policy Framework for the Civil Service which will be finalised over the coming months, following engagement with employee representatives.
- My Department is currently developing new Regional Enterprise Plans to 2024 in which there will be a focus on promoting remote working opportunities and investing in infrastructures across the nine regions.
- In October, over €9.3 million in funding was awarded to projects around the country through Enterprise Ireland’s Regional Enterprise Transition Scheme, with successful applicants including hubs and enterprise centres throughout the country.
- In Budget 2022, an enhanced income tax deduction for people working from home was announced. It amounts to 30 percent of the cost of vouched expenses for heat, electricity and broadband.
134. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the additional supports that will be provided for local enterprise offices in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60800/21]
View answerBudget 2022 sets out to help businesses get back on their feet as we reopen the economy and society. Funding allocated to this in Budget 2022 comes on top of the measures announced in the National Economic Recovery Plan, which sets out how the Government plans to get more people than ever working in long-term, future-proofed jobs.
The Local Enterprise Offices will receive an additional €2m under Budget 2022 which represents an almost 5% increase in funding for the Local Enterprise Offices. This additional investment will allow each of the 31 Local Enterprise Offices to enhance the role they already play in supporting local and regional development including the launching of the Regional Enterprise Plans.
The revised NDP sets out a strategic ambition of 15,000 net jobs through the Local Enterprise Offices, targeting the strategic priorities of Entrepreneurship, Competitiveness and Digitalisation, Sustainability, Innovation and Exporting and the additional funding provided in this Budget will be focused on the dual challenges of digitalisation of micro and small companies and addressing the challenges and opportunities in transitioning to a low carbon and sustainable economy. Initiatives such as Green for Micro and LEAN for Micro benefit businesses by increasing cost savings, improving resource efficiency, reducing environmental impacts and enhancing competitiveness and productivity.
The ongoing success of the Trading Online Vouchers Scheme will be built upon by continuing to assist enterprises on their digital journey as well as developing further awareness and training programmes to encourage Micro-enterprises to think digital first.
135. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if consideration is being given by his Department to a State-wide move to a living wage, as based on the minimum essential standard of living formula used by the Living Wage Technical Group given the rising rate of inflation. [60803/21]
View answerThe programme for Government makes the commitment to "progress to a living wage over the lifetime of the Government". I have spoken before about how the pandemic has caused many of us to reconsider and re-evaluate what an essential worker is. We now understand that it is a much broader group of workers than people would have originally described, many of whom are on low pay and in the private sector.
The Government has been clear in its belief that a legacy of the pandemic must be better pay, terms and conditions for everyone, but particularly for those on low pay. We are committed, therefore, to honouring the Government commitment to progressing to a living wage over the lifetime of this Government. In doing so, we need to recognise that many businesses have been badly affected by the pandemic and are struggling to pay existing wages. We need to make sure that we proceed in a way that does not cause jobs to be lost in terms of the numbers of people employed, or would see employees having their hours cut. To do so would be counterproductive.
Earlier this year I asked the Low Pay Commission to examine the programme for Government commitment and to make recommendations on the best approach.
The Low Pay Commission commissioned a team of researchers at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM) to conduct supporting research on the living wage. Terms of Reference for this research were noted by Cabinet earlier this year. The Commission expects to receive this research before year-end.
Informed by this supporting research, the Commission intends to provide a report to me on the issues surrounding the progression to a living wage early in 2022.
The report will consider the policy, social and economic implications of a move to a living wage and the process by which Ireland could progress towards it. It will do this by looking at international evidence on living wages, examining different calculation methods, examining the policy implications and outlining options for moving to a living wage in Ireland.
I can confirm that the calculation of a living wage on the basis of a minimum essential standard of living formula, as used by the Living Wage Technical Group, is being given consideration in the preparation of this report. Other calculation methods, such as a proportion of the median wage, are also being given consideration.
I look forward to receiving the Low Pay Commission’s report early next year. Their report will inform Government on the best practical approach to progress to a living wage in Ireland.
136. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department has drafted documentation or communication to influence the European Union due diligence proposal currently being developed by the European Commission; his views on whether his Department and Ireland will work to ensure a high common standard is set for the European Union supply chains with the objective that the comparable standards of human rights and environmental protection to those expected within the European Union are extended to global suppliers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60577/21]
View answerI understand that the Deputy may be referring to the European Commission’s forthcoming proposals on Sustainable Corporate Governance (SCG). Details are awaited but it is understood that the proposals will require companies to put in place policies and procedures to monitor the adverse effect of their operations and/or supply chain on human rights, labour rights, social rights and environmental issues.
Legislative initiatives in this area are best progressed, if at all possible, at EU level in recognition of the complex, international nature of many supply chains and to ensure harmonisation, promote policy coherence and avoid the risk of fragmentation within the EU single market. Cross border business activities, by their very nature, are not confined within political borders and are most effectively and impactfully addressed through multilateral cooperation and action.
Ireland is a strong advocate of human rights protections and seeks to ensure that proposals relating to corporate responsibility strike the right balance by protecting fundamental rights whilst ensuring that the measures to be implemented by companies achieve the policy goals and are not unduly onerous, particularly with regard to SMEs.
With regard to the Sustainable Corporate Governance initiative, to date there has been some preliminary engagement at officials level via the EU Company Law Expert Group. My Department will carefully consider the proposals, when available, and will engage with stakeholders to inform Ireland’s position on the legislation and the approach to future negotiations.
137. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which efforts continue to be made to ensure the availability of adequately qualified staffing levels to meet the requirements of the workplace as the country recovers or copes with Covid-19; his plans for specific initiatives to eliminate possible backlogs in the system when processing work permits; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60779/21]
View answer171. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the steps to be taken to ensure the availability of sufficient personnel to take up positions in the workplace; if some of this can be filled through non-EU sources; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61060/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 137 and 171 together.
The period since March 2020 has been difficult for most businesses, and some sectors have been more severely impacted by public health restrictions and for a more prolonged period. Throughout the pandemic my Department and its enterprise agencies have engaged with and supported businesses within their remit, and in recent months there has been the start of a recovery in employment across the economy. According to the latest Labour Force Survey, published by the Central Statistics Office, on a annual basis employment increased by 221,200 in the year to the third quarter of 2021, with employment standing at 2.71 million.
In seasonally adjusted terms, employment increased by 113,400 in the third quarter of 2021 alone. This came at a time when public health restrictions continued to ease and Ireland’s vaccination programme was being rolled out. This highlights the importance of the Government’s efforts to help workers and businesses throughout the past 18 months, especially those wage supports which helped businesses maintain a link to their staff.
In its ongoing engagement with enterprise, my Department and its enterprise agencies have nevertheless been made aware of labour shortages in certain sectors. My Department has worked to signpost businesses towards the training and labour market activation programmes and supports, available through the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, its agencies, and the Department of Social Protection, in order to address their staffing needs.
Some of these staffing shortfalls are due to pre-existing structural shifts in the economy, which have been accelerated by the impact of the pandemic. The twin decarbonisation and digital transitions, and their associated behavioural changes, are significantly altering the economy and will continue to do so in the coming years, leading to permanent changes in our labour market and business models. As we recover from the pandemic not all previous jobs will return- but embracing these transitions will also open up substantial new opportunities for businesses and jobs, as well as potential skills mismatches as these opportunities emerge.
The Government’s Economic Recovery Plan, published earlier this year, commits to supporting the transition of Ireland’s economy and workforce to the new Green and Digital economies. It has an overarching objective of having 2.5 million at work by 2024, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. It aims to realise this goal through ongoing support for people and businesses in making a full return to work. The Plan commits to further strengthening Ireland’s skills framework to ensure skills mismatches are minimised, and people are supported in securing and remaining in sustainable and quality employment, in areas of identified skills needs for business.
As the Pandemic Unemployment Payment is phased out, helping people back to work and reducing the risk of labour market scarring and entrenched long term unemployment is also a priority. This will be achieved through a combination of significant upskilling and reskilling opportunities and increased labour market activation interventions through Pathways to Work 2021-2025. A jobs led recovery will also be supported through creating the right environment for employment creation, through measures to boost the resilience, agility, competitiveness and innovation of enterprises across the economy.
This will also be supported through ensuring a balanced and inclusive recovery, through strategic investment in infrastructure and reforms that enhance our long-term capacity for growth, balanced regional development and by improving living standards. In moving towards the goal of having 2.5 million people in work by 2024, the focus will be on recovering differently, with more productive, innovative, resilient and importantly more secure and valued employment across the economy.
Workers from outside the European Economic Area, whose employment is facilitated by the employment permit system, will play an important role in helping deliver on the objectives set out in the Economic Recovery Plan. Ireland’s economic migration policy accommodates the arrival of non-EEA nationals to fill skills and labour gaps in the domestic economy in the short to medium term.
My Department recently announced changes to the permit system in light of identified gaps across the economy, with most construction workers now eligible for a General Employment Permit, the quota removed for HGV driver permits, and further General Employment Permit quotas granted for roles including Hospitality Managers, Horticulture Operatives, Meat Deboners, Meat Processing Operatives and Dairy Farm Assistants.
In light of the important role played by non-EEA nationals in filling identified skills and labour market needs, my Department is very conscious of the need to quickly address the delays being experienced in issuing employment permits and has taken measures to clear the current backlog as quickly as possible. It is confident that they will bear fruit over the coming weeks and months. It advises employers to take current timelines into account as part of their recruitment plans.
A number of factors have impacted processing times in recent months including an increase of over 50% in demand for permits since April this year. In addition, the additional eligible occupations announced on 28 October has prompted an increase in applications for permits.
It is important to point out that when set against other international employment permit regimes, Ireland continues to compare extremely favourably, even at current processing times. However, my Department is very conscious of the recent lengthening of timeframes for processing Employment Permit applications and is committed to reducing these further.
Applications for Employment Permits have seen a significant increase over the course of the year. As of the end of November, some 24,058 applications were received, representing a 62% increase over the same period in 2020 (14,846) and a 40% increase on 2019 (17,101), which itself represented an 11 year high in applications. The Department has issued some 14,254 employment permits since the beginning of the year, which represents a significant volume of activity. Processing times have been impacted by this increase in demand but also as a result of the HSE cyber-attack. As a result of the HSE cyber-attack, employment permit applications associated with the Doctors rotation (which occurs twice yearly in January and July) had to be submitted either manually or through other non-standard methods.
This resulted in a significant additional administrative burden in dealing with these applications requiring staff to be temporarily reassigned to assist in this process. The increased time required in processing these manual applications has had a direct impact on wider processing times for other employment permit applications.
My Department updates the employment permit processing timelines on its website on a weekly basis and regularly issues updates on relevant employment permit matters to Trusted Partners.
138. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the analysis his Department has carried out into the uptake and effectiveness of Government supports for Covid-19 impacted businesses; the uptake to date of each of the Covid-19 business supports provided by his Department in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60797/21]
View answerThe Government has worked to support businesses through these challenging times with a wide range of measures for firms of all sizes, which includes the wage subsidy scheme, business continuity and trading online grants, Restart Grants, COVID-19 Working Capital Scheme, the COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme, the Future Growth Loan Scheme, commercial rates waivers and warehousing of tax liabilities. Details of the supports can be found on my Department’s website: Government supports for COVID-19 impacted businesses - DETE (enterprise.gov.ie). I also publish an update table on the uptake of the range of advisory and finance schemes on my Department's website.
On 3rd December the Government agreed some additional public health measures to help to reduce the spread of COVID-19 including extra economic supports approved for sectors impacted by public health measures.
We recognise that these decisions, coming in addition to those of 16th November, will have a particular impact on sectors such as hospitality, the night time economy, and the arts and entertainment sectors.
With this in mind, on Friday we announced a package of financial interventions for the hospitality, events and entertainment sectors. The package includes:
- a change to the CRSS or EWSS, details of which will be confirmed very shortly by the Minister for Finance
- an extension of the targeted commercial rates waiver at least until the end of March
- an extra €25 million from the Covid contingency fund applied to the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, in particular to assist the live entertainment, arts and performance sectors.
As the Deputy will be aware, the PUP has also been reopened for workers who lose their jobs or have lost their jobs as a result of the newly announced restrictions.
Details of existing supports can be found on my Department’s website: Government supports for COVID-19 impacted businesses - DETE (enterprise.gov.ie). For further details on the new scheme and the changes to the Pandemic Unemployment Payment please refer to the Department of Finance and the Department of Social Protection.
Government policy remains that there will be no cliff edge to the support. All business supports are being kept under review to ensure that they are timely and target those that need them the most.
139. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his Department’s allocation under the National Development Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60811/21]
View answerThe recently published National Development Plan 2021 – 2030, sets out Departmental Capital allocations to 2025 and a total public investment of €165 billion over the period 2021-2030. In respect of my own Department, the NDP set out the following allocations;
|
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|
€432m |
€523m |
€558m |
€584m |
€611m |
In Budget 2022 it was confirmed that my Department will have a Capital allocation of €540m which included an additional €17m for ongoing Covid pandemic response measures, in addition to the baseline of €523m set out in the NDP.
The additional allocation secured in the NDP for 2022 allows my Department to invest in, or provide additional support to;
- the Enterprise Green Transition Fund,
- the Digital Transition Fund,
- European Digital Innovation Hubs,
- Future Manufacturing Ireland, - Advanced Manufacturing, - Agri Food Transformation, - Research & Development, - Regional Property,- the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund- the Space Technologies Programme, - the Expansion of NIBRT (National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training)- and Regional Enterprise Development Funding.
The final allocation of funding across the various subheads will be confirmed in the coming weeks on publication of Revised Estimates for 2022.
Theses strategic investment priorities are all set out in Chapter 10 of the NDP under National Strategic Objective number five, ‘A Strong Economy, supported by Enterprise, Innovation and Skills’. As detailed there, investment in these priorities will help us to maintain and build on our competitive, innovative and resilient enterprise base, providing high-quality jobs and employment opportunities for people to live and prosper in all regions.
140. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will report on the Midlands Regional Enterprise Plan. [60671/21]
View answerRegional enterprise development and sustainable local job creation is a key policy priority of mine and this Government.
My Department is currently overseeing the development of nine new Regional Enterprise Plans to 2024.
These are ‘bottom-up’ plans, developed by regional stakeholders which identify growth opportunities, recognise vulnerabilities, and enable job creation across the regions including in the Midlands region through collaborative regional actions.
The new Midlands Plan to 2024 which covers Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath will build on the core activities of the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and the LEOs and the wider range of State Bodies involved in supporting enterprise development in the region.
I am driving the delivery of the new Plan in the Midlands and over the past year have engaged directly with the Midlands Regional Steering Committee made up of regional stakeholders and chaired by Dr. Anne Cusack.
The regional stakeholders in the Midlands region have signed-off on three focused Strategic Objectives together with supporting actions for their region on Climate Action; on Smart Specialisation and wider digitalisation within regional businesses, and on Placemaking to make the region an attractive location for businesses and individuals.
It is my intention to publish the Midlands Plan and launch it early in 2022.
Finally, almost €6.8m has been invested by the Government into five regional enterprise projects in the Midlands under the three calls of the Regional Enterprise Development Fund and the recent Regional Enterprise Transition Scheme. I was also pleased to see that €25,000 was recently approved to Westmeath County Council under the Department’s Feasibility Funding scheme.
141. Deputy John Lahart asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the timeframe for legislation to give new rights to employees and prohibit the use of tips and gratuities to make up contractual rates of pay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60822/21]
View answer143. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his plans to introduce legislation to provide hospitality workers with a legal right to their tips, service charges and other gratuities. [60394/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 141 and 143 together.
On 27th October last, Government approved the drafting of a Bill that will prohibit the use of tips and gratuities to ‘make up’ contractual rates of pay and to require employers to clearly display their policy on how tips, gratuities and service charges are distributed. This will ensure that tips and gratuities are additional to a worker’s wage and are not subsumed by employers into the wage.
It is intended to introduce primary legislation in this area which will involve amendments to existing legislation as well as some new provisions. The General Scheme of the Payment of Wages (Amendment) (Tips and Gratuities) Bill was published on my Department’s website on 12th November last.
A key element of the Bill will provide a legal entitlement for workers to receive tips and gratuities paid in electronic form (i.e., by debit or credit card) with a provision that these tips and gratuities should be paid out to workers in a fair, transparent and equitable manner. A fair and equitable distribution will be context specific and is likely to take into account matters such as staff hours, busy and quiet periods, a worker’s role in service delivery etc.
Department officials are currently finalising the draft Heads of Bill in conjunction with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel. The Tánaiste will then seek Cabinet approval to publish the Bill early in the New Year.
142. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of commissions of investigation currently ongoing under the remit of his Department; the duration of each commission of investigation; the deadline for each commission of investigation; and the actual and projected cost of each commission of investigation. [54098/21]
View answerThere are no ongoing commissions of investigation in areas under the remit of my Department.
144. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of his Department's work on the implementation of a living wage. [60860/21]
View answerThe programme for Government makes the commitment to "progress to a living wage over the lifetime of the Government". I have spoken before about how the pandemic has caused many of us to reconsider and re-evaluate what an essential worker is. We now understand that it is a much broader group of workers than people would have originally described, many of whom are on low pay and in the private sector.
The Government has been clear in its belief that a legacy of the pandemic must be better pay, terms and conditions for everyone, but particularly for those on low pay. We are committed, therefore, to honouring the Government commitment to progressing to a living wage over the lifetime of this Government. In doing so, we need to recognise that many businesses have been badly affected by the pandemic and are struggling to pay existing wages. We need to make sure that we proceed in a way that does not cause jobs to be lost in terms of the numbers of people employed, or would see employees having their hours cut. To do so would be counterproductive.
Earlier this year I asked the Low Pay Commission to examine the Programme for Government commitment and to make recommendations on the best approach to meeting this commitment.
The Low Pay Commission commissioned a team of researchers at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM) to conduct supporting research on the living wage. Terms of Reference for this research were noted by Cabinet earlier this year. The Commission expects to receive this research before year-end.
Informed by this supporting research, the Commission intends to provide a report to me on the issues surrounding the progression to a living wage early in 2022.
The report will consider the policy, social and economic implications of a move to a living wage and the process by which Ireland could progress towards it. It will do this by looking at international evidence on living wages, examining different calculation methods, examining the policy implications and outlining options for moving to a living wage in Ireland.
I look forward to receiving the Low Pay Commission’s report early next year and then hope to bring proposals to Cabinet in the New Year.
145. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress that has been made to date since the IDA announcement in June 2021 that a 39 acre site had been purchased in north Drogheda; the projected timelines for the completion of the advanced building solution which will be housed on the new site; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60669/21]
View answerIn June 2021 IDA Ireland announced they had acquired two land banks in Co Louth. The land acquisitions, with a combined total of 149 acres, situated at the townland of Killally in Dundalk and Mell in Drogheda form part of IDA’s long term strategic plans to position Louth and the wider North East region to compete for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
Both sets of lands have been added to the IDA marketing database, enhancing the offering in the North East. A review is underway with respect to further servicing considerations and best positioning of the land banks to potential FDI opportunities. With respect to lands in Drogheda, a concept review for an Advanced Building Solution is progressing with the objective to deliver same within the term of the current IDA Strategy (2021-2024).
The timely provision of appropriate, cost-effective property and infrastructure solutions to meet the needs of multinational companies remains essential to winning FDI. The IDA’s regional property programme ensures the continued supply of land, buildings and infrastructure in regional locations to meet the needs of current and prospective clients.
The FDI performance in the North East Region has been strong over the past five years with employment growing among IDA clients within the Engineering & Industrial Technologies, Medical Technologies, Technology, International Financial Services and Life Sciences sectors. Co. Louth is home to 30 IDA Ireland client companies employing more than 4,372 people. In recent years, IDA Ireland supported companies including WUXI, Wasdell, Almac, PCI Pharma Services, Amazon Web Services and Simply NUC have announced investments and expansions for Co. Louth which has driven the demand for property solutions.
