Frank O'Rourke (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill this evening. Fianna Fáil supports the Industrial Development (Amendment) Bill 2018 in order to ensure continued foreign direct investment and jobs growth in Ireland which is hugely important to this country and its economy. The Bill enhances IDA Ireland's power to compulsorily purchase order land for immediate industrial use. That is only to be welcomed. It will help reduce and eliminate the barriers we have seen in recent cases.

Foreign direct investment is pivotal in providing over 200,000 IDA Ireland-supported jobs in our economy. IDA Ireland estimates that for every ten jobs generated by foreign direct investment, a further seven jobs are generated in the wider economy. In my own constituency in Kildare North, one can see the success stories of Intel and Hewlett Packard, and there are many other examples throughout Ireland. This is the reason we must eliminate what barriers exist in order to make Ireland a more attractive country for foreign direct investment.

At a time of increased global competition, we need to ensure that we have a planning system which enables this continued investment in a timely manner, when companies wish to establish themselves or to expand their Irish operations. We must look at the context in which that happens. We must be attractive as a country to come to and do business in. We have an exceptionally talented workforce. It is very highly skilled, extremely flexible and is acknowledged as having a very positive and can-do attitude. Workers are self-motivated and self-driven. There are many positive reasons foreign companies wish to set up in our country and our workforce is pivotal in that decision.

The Government has to deal with a planning system that is not fit for purpose, which has detrimentally influenced foreign direct investment. It is important that that is dealt with swiftly and properly. The long-running saga to get planning approval for the €850 million Apple data centre in Athenry is a case in point. It is a good example of how our out of date planning laws proved a barrier to this company setting up in Athenry, which would be of massive benefit to the local area, the wider region and everyone who lives there. It is very concerning that this huge investment will not now proceed, and that the company has now decided to build a second data centre in Denmark. During his visit to California, the Taoiseach was unsuccessful in securing a commitment on this project which was unfortunate for Ireland and the region. This Bill addresses one part of the issue there. It is important that when the issues are highlighted and identified that we move swiftly and correctly to deal with them in a practical, pragmatic and rational way for the benefit not only of Ireland and everyone already in it but also for those who come here to work.

Fianna Fáil has introduced legislation in the Dáil to fast-track the planning process for large-scale IT infrastructure projects such as data centres. The Government must work with us and with others to secure further job growth in this sector because it is a sector that will develop further and be very big in future. We can see how much it is already growing.

The Bill addresses the legal difficulties encountered previously by the IDA in acquiring land for the Intel corporation in Leixlip, County Kildare, in my own constituency. This transpired in what was known as the Reid case, in which the IDA tried to purchase a 72 acre farm next to the Intel plant from the farmer Thomas Reid. While the High Court approved the compulsory purchase order, CPO, in 2013, Mr. Reid claimed that this had breached his property rights under the Constitution and European Convention on Human Rights. On referral to the Supreme Court in 2015, the court ruled in his favour that the IDA has exceeded it power and declared that the agency's CPO mechanisms were outdated. That is another backdrop as to why we are speaking on this Bill and supporting it here this evening.

This is a recent example, along with that of the Apple data centre in Athenry, of our out-of-date planning system which has the potential to prevent foreign direct investment into Ireland. As I have said, when foreign direct investment companies set up in any region it is a positive and brings jobs. It brings a buzz, action and activity to the local area, which might not see employment or activity otherwise. That is part and parcel of the need to develop infrastructure to support foreign direct investment outside of Dublin and the greater Dublin area and to bring it to the midlands, the north west, the south, the south east and all of the different areas. We need to make these areas attractive for foreign direct investment so that it can assist positively in those local economies by giving employment locally in the regional economy. This of course feeds back positively into the national economy. It is important that we work on the basis that such investment be based in all areas and all regions. We need to work in a way that allows that to take place.

While concerns have been expressed by landowners regarding compulsory purchase of land by State agencies. The new powers conferred on the IDA in this Bill will only allow it to compulsorily purchase land for immediate use. That is important for people who might have an interest in this and who might have concerns. It is for immediate use rather than for use for industrial development. It is not for forward planning, it is for immediate use. Land acquired by CPO can only be leased while An Bord Pleanála, as an independent body, will confirm IDA CPOs and arbitrate on objections related to any compulsory acquisition. There is an independent process there. It is important that landowners are not fearful of this. It is for positive and immediate use.

The objectives of this Bill address, in our view, the issues raised by the judgment in Reid v.IDA and Ors. and ensures that the IDA has a sound legal basis to continue to carry out its property functions, which is very important. The Bill seeks to apply certain provisions of the Housing Act 1966 and the Planning and Development Act 2000 in order to provide for An Bord Pleanála to affirm a compulsory purchase order and adjudicate on any objections which might arise.

If one looks at Intel's plans for expansion in Leixlip, it is a perfect example, as we have discussed. Intel is a fantastic success story for both my own constituency of Kildare North and for Kildare generally. It has firmly put Ireland on the map. It employs 4,500 people on its site in Leixlip. That is a major contribution and a major asset locally. Since the 2015 Supreme Court ruling, Intel has lodged plans for a massive 90,000 m²expansion at the Leixlip plant which could create a further 850 full-time jobs and which would lead to 3,000 construction jobs. That is the benefit of having proper plans and legislation in place to allow for the expansion of existing companies, but also to alleviate barriers to further foreign direct investment.

The development was given the go-ahead last October by An Bord Pleanála. The suggested project could soon get the green light with refurbishment work planned for parts of the plant. An Intel spokesperson, however, recently said that the go-ahead for the extension was yet to receive final approval, although it is there in principle. We all await that with optimism.

Fianna Fáil will be supporting this. We are encouraged by what is there and by the reasons behind it. It is important that the motivations are positive and that is being done for the right reasons. Ireland, as a small economy with a small population, needs to be looking to attract foreign direct investment and to sustain the current employment that is there. We need to continue to advocate our workforce which is very talented, very flexible, very well-educated and very highly skilled and to ensure that we are competing at the highest level without any barriers to attracting further foreign direct investment into our country.

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