As the Deputy will be aware, IDA Ireland’s Regional Property Programme aims to ensure the supply of land, buildings and infrastructure in regional locations to meet the needs of current and prospective clients of the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and Local Enterprise Offices and serves as a significant contribution to regional economic development and job creation. In this regard, the IDA’s Property Programme will see 19 Advanced Building Solutions being advanced in regional locations across Ireland over the period to 2024 including in Tralee.
Under its current strategy, IDA has made considerable property investments in Kerry, including in May this year when the IDA completed the acquisition of over 16 hectares of lands at Kerry Technology Park, Tralee from Shannon Commercial. Furthermore, at present, IDA Ireland is working to identify a suitable site within its land bank at Kerry Technology Park to accommodate the construction of an Advanced Building Solution in the context of planned developments at the site.
In relation to the particular company raised by the Deputy, I am informed that IDA Ireland continues to engage with Central Pharma in respect of the pace of progress with its project at the Advanced Technology Building in Tralee. The most recent information provided by the company as of October 2023 is they are actively recruiting for 2 open vacancies. Furthermore, Central Pharma has also invested in fitting out the building to support its proposed activities as permitted in the lease they have with IDA Ireland and are currently meeting their financial obligations under the lease agreement. Moreover, the company has stated that they have been following opportunities to grow market presence together with renewing focussed marketing activity for the site. IDA will remain in close contact with the company on its future development plans.
More generally, the number of people employed in IDA Ireland client companies in Kerry continues to grow. Over the past 9 years there has been a 21% growth in the number of people employed by IDA client companies in the county. In September 2023, Astellas Pharma Inc announced its intention to build a state-of-the-art facility at an approximate cost of €330 million on IDA’s newly acquired lands in Kerry Technology Park, bringing highly specialised engineering, science and technology roles to the Region. The new facility, which is subject to planning, will consist of a 3-story building, total floor area of 17,000 square metres on a 44-acre site on the Kerry Technology Park Tralee. This will be Astellas’s second manufacturing site in Kerry with the company’s existing manufacturing plant in Killorglin.
I can assure the Deputy that IDA Ireland will continue to maintain a focus on land banks and strategic sites to future proof the ability of the property portfolio in regional locations to support the project pipeline, including for Kerry. IDA Ireland will also continue to engage with new and existing companies on promoting Ireland as a location for their business and the Agency will continue to position County Kerry for virtual and in-person site visits to prospective companies in 2023 and beyond.
