Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Midlands Regional Team of the IDA works closely with a variety of stakeholders to ensure that client companies from across the region have access to an appropriately skilled talent pool.

IDA Ireland also collaborates with the Midlands Regional Skills Manager, Education and Training Boards (ETB’s), Athlone Institute of Technology, Carlow Institute of Technology, Solas, Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR), amongst other entities, to ensure that the appropriate courses are always available to staff in the region looking to re-train and/or up-skill. For example, IDA Ireland has worked closely with Laois Offaly ETB, Grow Remote and Solas to launch two courses aimed at improving the skillsets of remote workers across Ireland. These courses have proven to be very popular since their launch earlier this year.

Regional Cleanroom Project is a new training centre in Tullamore established in October 2019 by Laois and Offaly ETB (LOETB). Catering to biopharma and med-tech sectors, the fully functional clean room areas (class 8) will be used to provide up-skilling / training in a realistic GMP simulated manufacturing environment. The facility can build bespoke training solutions at Level 5 and 6, encouraging new entrants into the sector.

IDA Ireland has welcomed the recent application by Athlone IT and Limerick IT to form a Technological University. The new technological university aims to connect knowledge creation with industry partnerships to grow and support collaboration. AIT has also benefited from funding for a new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) building, announced as part of the Department of Education and Skills €200 million investment in Institutes of Technology. This building will create capacity for an additional 1,000 STEM students, enabling AIT to provide for increased student demand on programmes in pharma, biopharma, microbiology, sport and health science and design, innovation and technology.

In addition, the IDA Midlands Regional Manager has sat on the Midlands Region Transition Team (MRTT) since its inception following the announcement of Bord na Mona’s strategy to transition from ‘Brown to ‘Green’. Under a new framework adopted by the Just Transition Commissioner, Kieran Mulvey, four new Working Groups have now been established under the MRTT. IDA Ireland is represented on Working Group 2 – Employment Generation by the Regional Managers of both the Midlands and West Regions. One of the objectives under this WG is to progress Future Employment & Skills Development.

The IDA has collaborated on and supported several surveys for the Midlands Region, such as the Laois Town Profile, the Midlands Skills Survey and the Laois Commuter Survey.

The IDA Midlands Regional Manager sits on the Steering Committee of the Midlands REP Advanced Manufacturing Plan team, together with key stakeholders from industry across the Region. A draft plan is to be issued shortly that will set out a shared vision for developing advanced manufacturing across the Region over the coming years.

IDA Ireland also supports the Midlands Lean Network. This collaborative network facilitates peer companies to meet and discuss various challenges and opportunities that present themselves, including the re-training and up-skilling of staff to work with the latest technologies.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 127, 128 and 129 together.

The primary responsibility of the IDA is to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Ireland and to retain, transform and expand the existing base of FDI companies that have already invested and located here. IDA Ireland’s strategy, Winning Foreign Direct Investment 2015 - 2019, set out challenging targets in respect of the FDI sector for the period. These targets included amongst others, the creation of 80,000 direct jobs in 900 investment projects over the period, bringing total FDI Employment to 209,000 by the end of the period. Under the program, IDA targeted a minimum increase in investment of 30% to 40% in each region outside Dublin. All targets from that strategy were achieved, with 1,209 investments creating 112,373 jobs achieved over the 5 years.

A new IDA strategy covering the period 2021 to 2024 will be launched shortly. Regional development will remain at the core of IDA’s strategy for the next 4 years. Maintaining competitiveness and improving the carrying capacity of the economy will be critical to delivering FDI over the next period .

The Midlands Region (Westmeath, Longford, Laois, and Offaly) has 43 multinational companies who collectively employ 6,209 people.The Region has been successful over several years in mobilising inward FDI, with employment levels in IDA client companies increasing every year since 2012. The Midlands offers an attractive cluster of LifeSciences and Global Business Services companies, excellent connectivity to major cities and Dublin airport and world class collaboration between academia and industry. The 2019 results show employment in the region at 245,096, an all-time high.

IDA clients account for 10.5% of national employment and growth in 2019 was 6% compared to 2.4% nationally. IDA client companies created 21,844 jobs across a range of sectors in 2019. Expenditure by IDA clients totalled €21.5 bn, an increase of 11%, and is made up of payroll (+12%) €13.3bn; materials (+9%) €2.6bn and services (+12%) €5.6bn.

(Source: DBEI Employment Survey 2019)

While FDI cannot form the sole economic development strategy for a region, it can play a huge role in increasing economic activity and reducing unemployment. However, winning such investments is a challenge and will require a concerted and continuous effort by all national and regional stakeholders. This will require greater co-operation, collaboration and integration to develop and present the strongest possible proposition to existing and future potential investors.

In response to COVID, IDA migrated many of its business development and client engagement activities to digital platforms. IDA Ireland has developed a suite of digital content which can be accessed by potential investors. The Agency has developed this further and has put in place an E-Site Visit experience for potential investors. The use of digital platforms by IDA staff has contributed to an enhanced digital engagement with existing clients and also in hosting E-Site visits with potential new investors.

County Laois Employment developments in IDA companies (Update from Employment Survey 2019)

Announcements made over the last two years include Greenfield Global Inc., Canada’s largest producer of alcohol and fuel ethanol, and one of the largest alcohols and solvents companies in North America, officially opened their new 3,800 sq. metre EU manufacturing headquarters located on IDA’s Business and Technology Park in Portlaoise in July this year. This is the company’s first manufacturing facility outside North America and will produce Pharmco branded products serving Life Science customers globally. This new facility will result in 75 new jobs over the next five years, while 170 construction jobs were created during the build and fit-out phase of the project. The Portlaoise facility is one of the first NZEB (near-zero energy buildings) to be completed under the new European standards.

Glanbia and its US partner Leprino Foods announced plans in July 2018 to build a new €130m mozzarella cheese manufacturing facility in Portlaoise, Co Laois. The new plant will create 250 jobs during construction and will employ 78 people when it is completed. A site for the new facility has been identified at the Togher Industrial Estate in Portlaoise. The new facility is expected to begin production in late 2020. The project is supported by Enterprise Ireland.

County Offaly Employment developments in IDA companies (Update from Employment Survey 2019)

Steris AST held the official opening of their new facility, located within IDA’s Business & Technology Park, Tullamore in February 2020.

County WestmeathEmployment developments in IDA companies (Update from Employment Survey 2019)

Huawei announced in August last year that they are to invest €70m into its Irish R&D operations over 3years. Huawei made the announcement from their HQ in Shenzhen, China. They have 3 facilities in Ireland, including one in Athlone, where they currently employ c.10people. Their additional facilities are located in Dublin & Cork.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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IDA Ireland meets with elected representatives from all parties on a frequent basis, on both a bilateral and multilateral basis. Although meetings are not generally tracked, the attached Table reflects the level of ongoing engagement that IDA Ireland has with elected representatives in counties Laois, Offaly and Westmeath.