Written answers

Thursday, 14 January 2021

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Regional Development

Photo of Alan DillonAlan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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7. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if additional details will be provided on the capital projects outlined in a strategy (details supplied) in County Mayo; the likely timelines involved for the proposed projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2077/21]

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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There are 120 IDA supported companies in the West Region, employing 27,695 people in total.  There are 17 IDA supported companies in County Mayo, employing 4,955 people.

Regional development is at the centre of IDA’s new strategy, Driving Recovery & Sustainable Growth 2021-2024. IDA is committed to the pursuit of more balanced, compact regional development which can deliver complementary efficiency and equity gains, with the overall impact of helping to advance national development. IDA will target half of all investments (400) from 2021- 2024 to regional locations and maintain the same high level of investment as targeted in IDA’s previous strategy for each region of the country. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cannot be the sole contributor in addressing the challenges facing Ireland’s regions – from Brexit to Covid-19, digital transformation to the climate transition – but it can have a significant impact in propelling economic recovery and realising more balanced growth.

The timely provision of appropriate, innovative and cost-effective property and infrastructure solutions to meet the needs of multinational corporations that are at the forefront of the modern economy remains essential to winning FDI. IDA’s regional property programme ensures the supply of land, buildings and infrastructure in regional locations as required by current and prospective clients of both IDA and Enterprise Ireland. A robust property and infrastructure ecosystem can be the key differentiator in winning FDI projects. Over the last 5 years, IDA’s Regional Property Programme enabled the winning of capital-intensive projects of significant scale to regional locations.

For example, in May 2020 Meissner Filtration Products announced that their new manufacturing facility in Co. Mayo is now operational. Meissner had initially established in an IDA constructed Advanced Manufacturing Building, completed in late 2018.

Ongoing risk aversion, financing challenges and the uncertainty associated with Covid-19 and Brexit are all likely to continue to result in a lack of commercial property solutions in regional locations. The IDA therefore must continue to intervene where market failure exists to ensure that the necessary property and infrastructure solutions are in place to maintain and attract FDI to regions in line with its strategic objectives and regional targets. In addition to its own property solutions, IDA will also continue to work with commercial property developers and Local Authorities to market other property solutions across all regions where they exist.

The locations in which IDA will provide property solutions over the lifetime of its new strategy Driving Recovery & Sustainable Growth 2021-2024 were chosen based on extensive analysis, engagement, review and consultation as well as macroeconomic considerations, existing clusters and available resources. IDA will deliver 19 Advanced Building Solutions (ABS) to regional locations and will deliver building solutions in Galway (x2) and Mayo (x1) in the West Region. The national capital investment plans outlined in the new IDA strategy, subject to planning permission and public procurement process, are expected to commence and be delivered within the term of the new strategy at all identified locations.

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