Laois to teach IDA how to create jobs in county

Laois County Council is to teach the IDA how to attract and create jobs, in a turnabout for the agency which has a longstanding dismal record for job support in Laois.

The Industrial Development Agency, charged with creating industry across Ireland, is instead seeking advice from Laois County Council after the local authority's huge success in creating J17 National Enterprise Park.

The IDA is considering a similar masterplan for their recently purchased 45 acre Portlaoise site, involving creating serviced individual sites and selling them to companies to build their own units.

The council has managed to create some 470 jobs and the park is almost fully sold out just five years after it was launched to create jobs in Laois.

The Laois County Council Cathaoirleach said she is "a bit disappointed" at not hearing news of a new factory, after a meeting with IDA officials in New York, as part of her trip for St Patrick's Day.

Cllr Thomasina Connell and Director of Services Simon Walton met officials from the IDA and Enterprise Ireland to seek overseas investment into Laois, and to ask how Laois businesses can be supported to access the USA market.

She gave an update to the March meeting of Laois County Council.

"They gave no indication of any kind of immediate development. It was a bit disappointing. But they are interested in Laois. This is a huge tract of land. It wouls take a manufacturing facility, but there are no concrete plans. At least we got an answer. I was very firm that we need more for Laois," she said.

Mr Walton said they have agreed to advise the IDA on how to repeat the success of J17 which has now created over 400 jobs in Laois.

"The Cathaoirleach's interest, enthusiasm, knowledge was there for all to see particularly by the Laois Association in New York. It's only when you go do you see the value of that trip.

"She asked the IDA about their purchase of 45 acres on the Mountrath Road. They had a high degree of familiarity with J17. They are more inclined to do as Laois County Council as done, to masterplan the site and provide critical infrastructure to develop the 45 acres. We have agreed to an exchange regarding how we funded and managed it," Mr Walton. 

Laois had the lowest number of IDA supported jobs in Ireland, in latest figures released in late 2022.

Laois Offaly TD likens extending eviction ban to giving children free sweets

It has just 157 IDA supported jobs. The figure was less than half the number of IDA supported jobs recorded in the second lowest county, Monaghan at 430 jobs. It represented less than an eighth of the number of jobs supported in neighbouring Co Offaly, where the figure stood at 1,302.

According to the then Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, “the IDA Ireland has worked hard to create a welcoming environment for FDI in all parts of the country and the strong regional spread of jobs and investment to date demonstrates the government's commitment to regional development".