Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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250. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the specific measures being taken to ensure that the new facility in Blarney (details supplied) leads to employment for locals in Cork City, Blarney, Mallow, and Glanmire; the plans for improving transport, utilities, and infrastructure to support commuting or services; the ancillary businesses or suppliers that have been secured; and the means by which the necessary social infrastructure (housing, public services) being planned to handle this expansion. [51051/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Government recognises that quality physical infrastructure is essential to ensure the economy has the capacity to achieve sustainable, long-term growth and plays a key role in boosting productivity and creating high value employment. This includes regionally significant infrastructure such as transport, housing, energy, water and wastewater services. The provision of essential physical infrastructure is also key to ensuring that enterprises in Ireland have the certainty they require to underpin investment decisions. Indeed, increasing the state’s capacity to deliver infrastructure is one of the six themes in the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity published on 10 September.

Specific questions relating to the development of physical infrastructure projects are a matter more pertinent to the responsible Departments, while the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage will likely be able to answer in more detail on the broader topic of housing. Regarding transport in the area, I understand that work is under way to progress the M20 project, which will offer improved access to residential and employment hubs in the region, while also reducing congestion along other routes.

On the topic of local employment, Cork has a significant ecosystem of well-established companies across the areas of technology, life sciences, international financial services, and engineering and industrial technologies. There are 219 IDA client companies, employing 49,868 people across Cork City and County, making it the largest FDI centre outside of the Dublin region. It has won significant investment across these sectors over a sustained period, and they have contributed significantly to employment growth and positive economic impacts on other sectors of the local economy.

Merck is a leading science and technology company and opened its new €150 million filtration manufacturing facility at Blarney Business Park, Co. Cork on Friday, 19 September. This state-of-the-art site is Merck’s first manufacturing facility designed for full climate-neutral operations, powered entirely by renewable electricity, and marks a significant milestone in the company’s ambition to achieve climate neutrality by 2040.

The Blarney facility is part of Merck’s largest life science investment to date in Ireland, with €440 million committed across its Cork operations in Blarney and Carrigtwohill. The expansion will support more than 200 new jobs in Cork by 2028.