Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I was very pleased to visit Longford last week, where I was met by Deputy Flaherty, Senator Carrigy and the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke. The timely provision of appropriate and cost-effective property and infrastructure solutions to meet the needs of multinational companies thinking of investing in Ireland remains essential to winning foreign direct investment, FDI. Over the past five years, IDA Ireland’s regional property programme has enabled the winning of capital-intensive projects of significant scale to regional locations, county towns and other large towns that would not otherwise have received an investment.

The agency plans to provide 19 advanced building solutions, ABSs, in 15 locations throughout Ireland over the lifetime of its new strategy, which runs between now and 2024. "Advanced building solution" is a generic term used to describe the range of office, industrial and flexible building solutions being built under the IDA Ireland programme. These buildings offer high-quality production space and office accommodation within a landscaped business park and are designed to meet the requirements of the manufacturing, technology, life sciences and other prospective industries. In respect of the building in Longford, IDA Ireland is continuing to liaise with Longford County Council and wider stakeholders to seek a suitable site for the proposed ABS. The site selection process is ongoing.

IDA Ireland’s regional property programme, supported by my Department, will provide property and strategic site solutions to address market failures in regional locations. Under the regional development pillar, the agency aims to win investment to propel recovery and support development in each region, targeting 400 investments for locations outside Dublin by the end of 2024. It is actively encouraging investors to locate in all parts of the country, whether through marketing potential investment sites outside the main cities or working to develop recognised industry clusters.

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