No current interest in ida business park minister admits

There are currently “no specific current leads” looking at joining Patterson Pumps in Mullingar’s IDA business park, Deputy Gabrielle McFadden has been informed by Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation minister, Deputy Richard Bruton.

Deputy McFadden asked at Dáil Éireann what efforts have been made in the last 12 months to attract investors to the park, and what plans the IDA has to attract investors to it in 2015.

Minister Bruton responded that the park is fully zoned and serviced, and having Patterson Pumps located there “makes it a more attractive proposition to present to other potential investors”.

“The IDA has informed me that although there are no specific current active leads in relation to the Park in Mullingar, it is also important to note that it can take between three and five years in some cases for a project to come on stream,” he said.

The minister went on to explain that IDA Ireland markets Mullingar as part of IDA Ireland’s Midlands Region, which consists of counties Longford, Laois, Offaly, Westmeath and Roscommon.

He said the Midlands Region has “a strong cluster in medical technologies and life sciences companies (Abbott, Covidien, Integra, GeneMedix, Freund, Utah, KCI, AMS) and a number of international business services companies (Teleflex, AXA, NPD Group and PPD)”.

He said these international brands are an attraction for additional companies to potentially locate to the midlands.

“At the end of 2014, there were 35 IDA Ireland client companies located across the midlands region, employing 3,800 people in full and part-time employment, with 16 of those companies employing 2,300 people located in Westmeath.

“In order to support its marketing effort, the IDA has invested in specific marketing materials for the region and has launched the digital Invest in Midlands initiative, which is used by the IDA regional and overseas teams to market what the midlands has to offer a potential investor, and covers all aspects of the region such as the clusters of companies, business parks, infrastructure, talent, lifestyle and the overall business environment offered by the region.

During 2014 IDA Ireland arranged 13 site visits by potential investors to the midlands Region.