Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

56. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will engage with the IDA regarding the serious lack of IDA-backed jobs in Laois. [6512/25]

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

63. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will raise with the IDA the absence of any progress on businesses locating to the vacant 50-acre, IDA-owned site in Portlaoise, County Laois. [6513/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 56 and 63 together.

IDA is committed to the pursuit of balanced, compact regional development which can deliver complementary efficiency and equity gains, with the overall impact of helping to advance national development. I launched the new IDA Ireland Strategy yesterday which will direct the focus of IDA Ireland over the coming 5-year period as it seeks to enhance the resilience, productivity, and innovation of Ireland’s FDI base. This strategy reaffirms IDA’s continued focus on the regions. Building on the excellent performance over the previous strategy, IDA is targeting 55% of investments to regional locations over the next 5 years.

The IDA Midlands Region comprises of counties Westmeath, Offaly, Laois and Longford. There are 52 IDA client companies in the Midlands Region, employing 8,045 people. The FDI performance in the region has been strong over the past five years with employment among IDA clients increasing by 26%. The Midlands has a significant ecosystem of well-established companies across Life Sciences, Technology, Global Business & Financial Services and Engineering & Industrial Technologies.

There are currently 145 people employed across 5 IDA-supported companies in Laois. Over the last IDA strategy, IDA has supported three significant FDI investments for Laois. In July 2021 N’Ware Technologies, a Canadian software firm, announced the opening of its new sales and services centre in Mountrath, with the creation of 25 jobs. In July 2020, Greenfield Global officially opened its new €30m EU manufacturing headquarters in Portlaoise, to be supported by 75 employees. In 2018 Barracuda (previously known as Skout), a U.S. cybersecurity firm based on the IDA Business Park in Portlaoise announced the creation of 30 jobs.

A core objective of IDA Ireland is to enable, influence and deliver a competitive property offering which promotes national economic investments, supports winning Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and the growth and expansion of indigenous clients within the Enterprise Ireland portfolio. The availability of quality Business Parks and Strategic Sites is a critical component of the Regional Value Proposition and winning of investments into the regions. It is crucial that the Midlands region has a competitive, sustainable property offering to enable the attraction and retention of investment and jobs.

IDA has made considerable investments in land, buildings and infrastructure across the Midlands region. IDA Ireland announced in October, 2022, it had acquired c.18.46 hectares of land adjacent to the Business and Technology Park in Portlaoise and in 2024 IDA Ireland acquired an additional c.4.25 hectares. The land currently available for promotion on the Business and Technology Park in Portlaoise is c.29.66 hectares.

IDA Ireland also continues to assist Enterprise Ireland companies as they set up and scale and have assisted companies with their property requirements, for example Aubren – is an Enterprise Ireland client located on the IDA Business and Technology Park in Portlaoise.

It is essential that IDA collaborates effectively with national and local stakeholders to ensure that each region has the necessary conditions in place to foster enterprise and innovation and attract investment and talent. IDA’s enjoys close working relationships with all key stakeholders across the 4 counties and is heavily involved in a significant number of initiatives across the region to improve the value proposition for FDI – Just Transition, Midlands Regional Enterprise Plan Steering Committee, ICT Cluster and ATIM Cluster Steering Committee, and the Region Skills Forum etc.

IDA’s focus over the coming years is to build on the strengths and competencies of the region with a particular focus on high value manufacturing, services and research and development opportunities across a number of established clusters in Life Sciences, Technology, and Global Business Services. Emerging technology trends have and will continue to create new opportunities across the region in areas such as data analytics, smart manufacturing, cybersecurity and new approaches to working such as co-working hubs.