Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 April 2026
147. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the current status of IDA Ireland lands in Mell, Drogheda, County Louth; the actions being taken by his Department and the IDA to unblock, service and activate these lands to enable further industrial and employment-generating investment in Drogheda; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30452/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraBalanced regional development is a key focus of the work of my Department and our Enterprise Development Agencies. In this regard, IDA Ireland is continuing its strong commitment to promoting FDI in regional locations as part of its 2025–29 strategy, Adapt Intelligently, and is targeting 550, or 55%, of FDI projects outside Dublin over the strategy's lifetime. Furthermore, the IDA is positioning the Mid-East Region, including Co. Louth, as a competitive destination for global investment, targeting 55 of these 550 investments to the Mid-East.
The availability of suitable property and strategic sites is a critical component of the regional value proposition and can be a key differentiator in investment decisions from both new and existing clients, as well as clients of Enterprise Ireland and the LEOs. 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 of IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland.
To this end, IDA Ireland holds a c. 19-hectare landbank at Mell North and a c. 17.9-hectare landbank at Mell South in Drogheda, Co. Louth. These landbanks form part of IDA Ireland’s long-term strategic plans to position Drogheda and the wider Mid-East region to support future investment from FDI and indigenous client companies of Enterprise Ireland.
IDA Ireland is actively progressing services and infrastructure enhancement works on its landholding at Mell North to ensure the site can be marketed to support investment opportunities. IDA Ireland has also obtained planning approval for an Advance Building Solution on IDA Ireland’s Mell North lands, aligned to the current Regional Property Programme under the Adapt Intelligently Strategy 2025–2029.
IDA Ireland has also recently submitted a planning application on its Mell South landbank for enabling infrastructure and utility requirements to also ready this landbank for potential investment opportunities.
IDA Ireland’s 2025–2029 strategy also commits to progressing an Advanced Building Solution in Drogheda and partnering with Meath County Council for the delivery of an advance planning permit for an Advanced Technology Building in Navan to advance the location from an attractiveness perspective.
IDA Ireland continues to engage with the Local Authority and other relevant stakeholders to support the phased servicing and enablement of the sites, and additionally collaborates with private sector property developers and Local Authorities to market other property solutions across all regions to ensure the requisite solutions are in place to support future investment.
The Mid-East region continues to perform strongly in terms of FDI, with 126 IDA Ireland-supported multinational companies directly employing 20,284 people, and employment amongst IDA Ireland client companies increasing by 5% over the past five years.
I acknowledge recent challenges, including employment losses in the region in 2025 reflecting sectoral and client-specific developments. Notwithstanding this, IDA Ireland continues to supports sustainable growth across its client base through a focus on transformative investments in RD&I, digitalisation, training, and sustainability, aimed at enhancing competitiveness and productivity within Irish operations and their workforce.
Of course, my Department and our Enterprise Development Agencies also support Irish-based enterprise development in County Louth and the Mid-East, including through Enterprise Ireland, the LEOs and our Tourism investment supports. There are over 10,000 people employed in Enterprise Ireland supported companies in the Mid-East, including Co. Louth.
