Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. I am very pleased that an advanced building solution is now a Government priority for inward investment in County Longford, in line with similar comments from IDA Ireland. Ann-Marie Tierney-Le Roux, head of regional business development, told a recent meeting of Longford County Council that the agency is committed to developing a committed facility in Longford town. It is very much a case of build it and they will come.

The Tánaiste will agree that the challenge at the moment is to identify a site. Currently, we have in excess of 1,700 IDA Ireland-supported jobs in Longford town, thanks to Technimark, Avery Dennison and Abbott Diagnostics. The Abbott plant is a real success story, having just breached the 1,000 employees mark. The local authority owns lands in the vicinity of the Abbott site but the preference is that IDA Ireland would spread its net further and separately facilitate a possible future expansion for Abbott. I ask the Tánaiste to encourage IDA Ireland to be ambitious and cast its net wide in search of a site in Longford town.

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