Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 February 2024
123. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the timeline for completion and delivery of the planned IDA-backed advance facility in Drogheda, County Louth; the sector or purpose for which the facility will be marketed to potential IDA clients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8517/24]
View answerIDA’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 of IDA, Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices. The timely provision of appropriate, cost-effective property and infrastructure solutions to meet the needs of Multi-National Companies (MNCs) remains essential to winning Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
Under its current Strategy, the IDA is committed to delivering 19 Advanced Building Solutions or “ABS” across six regions in 15 locations whilst also working with Local Authorities on advance planning permissions for additional building solutions. This includes the delivery of an Advanced Building Solution at Mell Drogheda, Co Louth, where IDA Ireland holds a circa 19-hectare landbank, to help position Drogheda and the wider Mid-East region as an attractive location for FDI investments. In this regard, I am advised that the Drogheda building, an advanced manufacturing or technology building, is currently in the planning system. Subject to planning being granted, it is the IDA's intention to then progress the process of identifying a suitable contractor in line with public procurement procedures to deliver the building.
Over the past years, IDA’s Regional Property Programme has enabled the winning of capital-intensive projects of significant scale to regional locations. IDA will continue to work with commercial property developers and Local Authorities to market other property solutions across all regions, including, of course, the Mid-East and Drogheda .
In this regard, the FDI performance in the Mid-East Region, which comprises counties Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow, has been strong, with IDA Ireland client company employment in the region growing by 10% over the last five years. 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. In February 2023, ABB officially opened a multi-million-dollar R&D centre to drive technological advancements in pulp and paper in Dundalk creating 30 research, engineering and sales jobs. In late 2022, Panasonic Avionics announced the expansion of its European MRO (maintenance, repair & overhaul) facility in Dundalk with 30 additional jobs over 3 years.
