Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

Developing next generation sites is essential for Ireland to remain competitive if we wish to attract further large-scale, high-value manufacturing opportunities such as major semiconductor and biopharma investments. The next generation site approach will be plan-led, streamlining development and reducing planning risks, and provide pre-permitted, utility-intensive sites, enabling swift development and certainty for investors. Each site will be developed in stages over a number of years to facilitate incremental investment in the necessary infrastructure. Funding for land acquisition for the first two sites, planned for the west and east of the country, is coming from my Department's capital allocation under the revised national development plan. A third site is planned for the south in future years.

Each next generation site development will be undertaken in consultation with local authorities with sites of either 1,000 acres or 500 to 600 acres for tier 2 proposals, in line with the programme for Government and our semiconductor strategy commitment. The IDA will engage with relevant local authorities throughout the process. The sectors targeted by next generation sites will provide quality, skilled employment that pays high salaries, thereby contributing to our corporation tax, PAYE and PRSI receipts. Additionally, further returns on investment will come from site rental or sale.

At a local level, Irish-owned enterprises will benefit from site development opportunities as well as ongoing subsupply to and spin-outs from the large-scale FDI envisaged, as has been confirmed in many studies of past FDI gains, including through the recent mapping of semiconductor sites in our next-generation strategy. Next generation sites will demonstrate that Ireland is a suitable location for establishing new large-scale operations as well as for winning future large-scale foreign direct investment. We are clear that we will not continue investments on yesterday's terms. We need more ambition and to get that next wave of investment. The next generation initiative will sit alongside the IDA's regional property programme, which, during the 2025 to 2029 lifetime of its current strategy, will deliver 23 projects across 21 locations in eight regions, primarily focusing on manufacturing buildings. The IDA will also plan to continue to invest in its existing property portfolio, including land banks, business parks and industrial parks.

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