Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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97. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will provide an update on the IDA commitment to deliver an advanced building solution in Longford town; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21902/23]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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IDA Ireland is fully committed to delivering an Advanced Building Solution - or ABS - in Longford. IDA Ireland is continuing to liaise with Longford County Council and with wider stakeholders to identify a suitable site for the proposed ABS and the site selection process is currently ongoing.

Longford is already home to 7 IDA Ireland client companies directly employing more than 1,620 people and has an impressive range of companies across all industry sectors. This portfolio of multinational companies is hugely significant to the region and today the Midlands has become a key strategic base for global companies of scale. Global leaders who have invested in the Region include Technimark, Avery Dennison and Abbott in Longford, as well as others such Greenfield Global (Laois), N’Ware (Laois), Zoetis (Offaly), Medtronic (Westmeath), and Ericsson (Westmeath).

FDI employment in the Midlands region has increased by 43% in the past 5 years. FDI has a significant impact on the Midlands Region from an economic impact perspective, with an estimated €402 million spent by MNC’s on payroll during 2020; €126 million was spent on Services and Materials; and €92 million was spent on in-house R&D.

Regional development is at the centre of IDA Ireland's current strategy “Driving Recovery & Sustainable Growth 2021-2024”. Under this Strategy, the IDA is targeting half of all investments to regional locations which aligns with the objectives of the Programme for Government. Specifically, IDA Ireland is targeting 25 investments for the Midlands region during this period.

In December, Technimark, a global manufacturing leader for the healthcare market, announced it will create 80 new highly skilled roles over the next two years as it expands its operations in Longford, with a 50,000-square-foot addition, doubling the size of its existing plant. Technimark will be investing €26 million to expand the facility's capacity in medical manufacturing, including precision injection molding, value-added assembly, finished device assembly and contract manufacturing.