Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

106. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will provide an update on the IDA advanced building solution to be provided on the purchased IDA land bank in north Drogheda; the expected timelines on the ABS; when the IDA expects to fill capacity on the strategic site; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22033/23]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In 2021, IDA Ireland acquired a new 39 acre landbank at The Mell in Drogheda, Co Louth. This landbank will form part of IDA’s long term strategic plans to position Drogheda and the wider Mid-East region to compete for Foreign Direct Investment.

Since acquiring the landbank IDA Ireland has undertaken an infrastructure review with respect to servicing considerations and how to best position the landbank for potential FDI investment opportunities. IDA has now published a procurement notice on etenders for the infrastructure upgrade works.

IDA is committed to building an Advanced Building Solution on the new lands. A multi-disciplinary design team has been appointed by IDA and this review is ongoing and progressing well.

IDA Ireland and Louth County Council had agreed terms on the transfer of c.7 Acres to IDA Ireland and this transfer is now completed. This has now increased the IDA Ireland current land holding to c.46 Acres.

The timely provision of appropriate, cost-effective property and infrastructure solutions to meet the needs of MNCs remains essential to winning FDI. IDA Ireland's regional property programme ensures the continued supply of land, buildings, and infrastructure in regional locations to meet the needs of current and prospective clients. A robust property and infrastructure ecosystem can be the key differentiator in winning FDI projects. IDA Ireland is pleased to have acquired these two landbanks enhancing the offering in the Mid-East. Over the last five years, IDA’s Regional Property Programme enabled the winning of capital-intensive projects of significant scale to regional locations. IDA will continue to work with commercial property developers and Local Authorities to market other property solutions across all regions where they exist.

The FDI performance in the Mid-East Region, which comprises counties Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow, has been strong over the past five years with employment growing among IDA clients within the Engineering & Industrial Technologies, Medical Technologies, Technology, International Financial Services and Life Sciences sectors.

There are 113 IDA Ireland client companies in the Mid-East Region employing 21,861 people directly and supporting an additional 17,489 indirect jobs. IDA Ireland client employment in the region grew by 13% in 2022 with an additional 933 net jobs created. County Louth is home to 36 IDA Ireland client companies directly employing 4,485 people.

In recent years, IDA Ireland supported companies including WUXI, Becton Dickinson, Wasdell, PCI Pharma Services, Kaseya, IT Renew, Amazon Web Services and Simply NUC who have announced investments and expansions for Co. Louth which has driven the demand for property solutions.