Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
369. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of new net jobs created in IDA-client companies (broken down by client company name), in County Louth, in tabular form, for 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35630/23]
View answerThe 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 in 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. Moreover, County Louth is home to 36 IDA Ireland client companies directly employing 4,485 people.
In recent years, IDA Ireland supported companies including WUXI, Wasdell, PCI Pharma Services, Kaseya, IT Renew, Amazon Web Services and Simply NUC who have announced investments and expansions for Co. Louth which have driven the demand for property solutions. In June 2021, IDA Ireland acquired two landbanks in Co Louth. These land acquisitions, with a combined total of c.157 acres are situated in Drogheda and in Dundalk and form part of IDA’s long term strategic plan to position Louth and the wider region to compete for FDI investment.
While the IDA is unable to provide employment figures for individual companies for commercial confidentiality reasons, outlined below are the employment figures and announcements from IDA clients in County Louth over the period requested based on the Employment Survey 2022:
|
|
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
|
No. of Companies |
30 |
31 |
36 |
37 |
36 |
|
Total Jobs |
3,980 |
4,605 |
4,344 |
4,686 |
4,485 |
|
Gross Gains |
300 |
813 |
361 |
614 |
415 |
|
Job Losses |
-202 |
-188 |
-622 |
-272 |
-616 |
|
Net Change |
98 |
625 |
-261 |
342 |
-201 |
IDA announcements in Louth over last 4 years are as follows:
|
Company Name |
Date |
Brief Description |
Jobs/Investment |
Town |
|
ABB |
Feb 2023 |
ABB officially opens multi-million-dollar R&D centre to drive technological advancements in pulp and paper in Dundalk creating 30 research, engineering and sales jobs |
30 |
Dundalk |
|
Panasonic Avionics |
Oct 2022 |
Panasonic Avionics announced expansion of its European MRO (maintenance, repair & overhaul) facility in Dundalk. It will increase its workforce at the site to 60 people with 30 additional jobs over the next 3 years. |
30 |
Dundalk |
|
Kaseya |
Jul 2022 |
Kaseya, a US IT management and security software company announced plans to establish a new Centre of Excellence in Dundalk with the creation of 250 jobs over three years |
250 |
Dundalk |
|
Becton Dickinson |
Dec 2021 |
BD announced the creation of 100 jobs with a €62M investment in new equipment to expand its production of BD PosiFlush™ syringes |
100 Jobs
€62M |
Drogheda |
|
Hiab (Cargotec) |
Sep 2021 |
Hiab, a load handling equipment provider announced an investment of over €50M to develop a new Factory of the Future |
100 Jobs €50m |
Dundalk |
|
ITRenew |
Sep 2021 |
ITRenew, a global leader in circular cloud and sustainable data centre infrastructure announced it will establish an Ireland Headquarters & Logistics Centre in Drogheda |
40 Jobs |
Drogheda |
|
Simply NUC |
May 2021 |
Simply NUC, a systems integrator specialising in mini PCs established its EU HQ & manufacturing centre in Dunleer |
30 Jobs |
Dunleer |
|
TrustLabs Inc |
May 2021 |
TrustLabs, a privately held blockchain fintech company, announced the establishment of its European Headquarters in Dundalk |
20 Jobs |
Dundalk |
|
WuXi Vaccines |
Nov 2019 |
Vaccine Production Facility |
€202m and 200 jobs |
Dundalk |
|
Panasonic Avionics |
Oct 2019 |
Establishment of a repair shop, providing repair services of IFEC equipment to customers in Europe |
|
Dundalk |
|
Wuxi Biologics |
April 2018 |
A new biologics drug substance manufacturing facility |
€325 million and 400 jobs |
Dundalk |
|
PCI Pharma Services (PCI) |
April 2018 |
Announced the launch of its new contained packaging facility for the primary and secondary packaging of highly potent products |
30 jobs |
Drogheda |
|
Almac Group |
January 2018 |
Announced a further expansion in support of Clinical and Commercial drug supplies at its European Campus |
€34 million investment |
Dundalk |
Earlier this month Becton Dickinson announced that, following a slowdown and normalisation of global volume for a product line produced at the BD Drogheda site, the company has taken the decision to "right-size" its manufacturing operations to align with future demand. This will result in a reduction of 60 positions in Drogheda between now and September 2024. However, given the length of the time to implement the job losses, the company expects natural attrition and retirements can reduce the total number of employees affected. Our first concern is for those employees affected and their families. The IDA will work with the local leadership team on skills analysis and redeployment opportunities in the region, where appropriate.
