Demand that Laois be taken out of the Midlands in effort to attract foreign jobs

 

Laois should be taken out of the Midlands and instead include the county in the Ireland East region when trying to get companies to invest there.

That's what Laois Offaly TD Brian Stanley wants done by the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) to redress the balance of foreign direct investment in favour of Laois.

Instead of being marketed with Offaly, Longford and Westmeath, the Sinn Féin TD wants Laois clustered with Kildare and Carlow by IDA staff selling Ireland around the world.

Kildare is home to Intel which employs nearly 5,000 people in Ireland. 

"One matter that may be inhibiting Laois is that it is tied into the Midlands IDA Region and has consistently scored bad in comparison to other Midland counties. I have made the case before that it may be more appropriate for Laois to be part of the IDA’s Eastern region which includes counties Carlow and Kildare," he said.

The Sinn Féin TD made the call as the IDA announced it was buying 45 acres beside the Portlaoise Business and Technology Park. The move will double the size of the park which is home to just three firms.

Dep Stanley figures recently released to Sinn Fein underline the "appalling record" of the IDA support for Laois jobs. Figures obtained by Deputy Louise O’Reilly (SF) show Laois has the lowest number of IDA backed jobs in the State.

Dep Stanley met this week with Laois Chamber who want action from the IDA and public representatives.

“Not just is Laois the lowest in the State but it has just one third of the IDA backed jobs that are in the second lowest county Monaghan and only one eight of IDA jobs in Offaly.

"Laois has the miniscule of 157 jobs in IDA supported companies. This compares with Offaly with 1302, Westmeath 4099 and Kildare with a total of 9748,’’ he said.

He wants an explanation from the IDA.

“The poor record of the IDA in the County has never been explained by either Government or senior IDA officials. Given the fact that the County has an excellent road network and connectivity to all major cities and the ports of Cork, Rosslare and Dublin, the county should be doing much better. It is also becoming a more attractive location to live in, considering the improvement in local facilities over the past two decades," he said.

Call for new IDA job creation plan after big Portlaoise purchase

The TD said he had held a productive meeting with Laois Chamber and proposed the a meeting be sought with the IDA's top brass to get more jobs into Laois from overseas.

"As local TD I want to support all efforts by Chamber of Commerce and other to increase foreign direct investment into the area," he said.

Laois in the frame for jobs as IDA buys land in Portlaoise

The IDA has said the the purchase of land is in Portlaoise is a significant investment by IDA Ireland in the Midlands Region aims to future-proof the property offering in attracting Foreign Direct Investment to the region and to Laois in particular.