IDA - Ireland

IDA Ireland (Industrial Development Agency) is an Irish Government agency with responsibility for securing new investment from overseas in manufacturing and internationally traded services sectors. It also encourages existing investors to expand and develop their businesses.

http://www.idaireland.com/
idaireland@ida.ie
+353 (0)90 6471500
Athlone Business & Technology
Garrycastle, Dublin Road, Athlone
Co. Westmeath

IDA’s objective in the Midlands is to establish an economic zone driven by high quality inward investment that will be on a par with the best of other regions in the country in line with the National Spatial Strategy.

The IDA Ireland office in Athlone is the Midlands Regional Office servicing counties Westmeath, Longford, Offaly, Laois and Roscommon with IDA Ireland staff supporting the overall regional development programmes of the agency.

IDA Ireland’s office in Athlone is also the national headquarters for the Agency’s National Regional Development and Property Programmes. The aim of these programmes are:

• To spearhead more balanced regional development; and
• To provide international standard property solutions throughout the country.

Significant investment has been made by IDA in the Midlands in having the right property solutions to ensure that the region is competitive as a location for inward investment and up to international standards. IDA Ireland has developed Business & Technology Parks of a very high standard and there is accommodation available for inward investment companies from all sectors. Infrastructure is developing positively in the region with a good telecommunications infrastructure, road access is improving substantially on an ongoing basis with new motorway links to Airport, Port etc.

The total population of the Region is 225,600 (Source CSO 2002 Census of Population). This represents an increase of 20,000 over the 1996 census for the Midland Region. Athlone is the principal town and largest urban centre for the Region and is home to Athlone Institute of Technology. Other principal towns include Tullamore, Mullingar, Portlaoise and Longford.

Athlone:
Athlone is the commercial and industrial capital of the Midlands Region with an urban population of 16,000, rising to 300,000 within a 60 Km radius.  Athlone is located 125 km (75 miles) from Dublin Airport and is on the Dublin-Galway Intercity train route with regular daily services to and from Dublin.

In addition to a range of schooling options, Athlone is home to the Athlone Institute of Technology, the Midlands Region’s third level college with a student population of 5,000 (full and part time) producing c. 1,700 graduates per annum and the regional office of FAS  (The National Training Agency) – with an output of c.3,000 trainees per annum;

Multinational companies operating in Athlone include:
Ericsson (telecommunications software), Elan Corporation (pharmaceutical); Tyco Mallinckrodt (medical products); Mapics (software / technical support); Alienware Corporation (gaming PCs); ICT Eurotel (customer relationship management call centre).

Mullingar:
Mullingar with a population of 15,621, rising to 487,462 within a 60 km (37.5 mile) radius, lies 82 km (51 miles) North-West of Dublin on the National Primary Route N4. The town is the administrative and commercial centre for County Westmeath.

Mullingar has a wide range of primary and secondary (high school) options and also is home to both the Mullingar General Hospital & St Francis Private Hospital.

In addition to its base of Irish owned companies, Mullingar is a proven location for overseas companies across a number of sectors. The General Motors subsidiary, GMAC has two operations in Mullingar - a financial shared services centre and a software development facility. The towns manufacturing base of overseas companies includes Taconic International (Teflon coated fabrics), Iralco Ltd (automotive components) & Oakley Optical Ireland (prescription sunglasses)

Tullamore:
Tullamore is the principal town and administrative centre of County Offaly with a population of 11,098, rising to 348,041 within a 60 km (37.5 mile) radius.  It is situated on the Tullamore Silver River. The Grand Canal, historically the transport system that linked the town to Dublin, flows through Tullamore and is an attractive amenity for tourists and boating enthusiast. The canal is linked to the River Shannon.

The town functions as an important business centre involving manufacturing and services, as well as a social centre for an extensive area of North Offaly.   Tullamore is situated on the N80 route linking the town to Portlaoise and Athlone with onward links to Galway, Limerick / Shannon & Cork. Tullamore is also on the Dublin to Galway rail route with regular daily services in both directions.

Tullamore has extensive schooling options, is the Administrative Headquarters of the Midlands Health Board and has an excellent general hospital.

Overseas companies with significant operations in Tullamore include Tyco Healthcare (medical devices) Boston Scientific (fluid management and pressure monitoring devices) Sennheiser Ireland (headphones) GeneMedix  (biogeneric pharmaceutical products) & Isotron Ireland (ETO sterilisation).

Portlaoise:
Portlaoise, with its population of 12,127, rising to 437,375 within a 60 km (37.5 mile) radius is the principal town and administrative centre of County Laois.  Portlaoise is strategically located at the junction of the Dublin / Cork (N8) and Dublin / Limerick (N7) National Primary Routes. Portlaoise is also located on the main Dublin / Cork and Dublin / Limerick rail lines and has regular daily services to and from Dublin.

Dublin is one hour away by rail and the M7 motorway affords fast, easy connections to the Capital and Dublin Airport.

Overseas companies in county Laois include, ebm-papst Ireland Ltd (fans, blowers and air movers), DIS Enbi Seals Ltd (rubber sealing products), ICM UniComp (feed mill control and information systems), Standex International (pumps for vending machines)

Longford:
Longford town is the administrative centre of County Longford, with a population of 7,557, rising to 290,051 within a 60 km (37.5 mile) radius.  The town is strategically located 125 Km (78 miles) from Dublin on the N4 National Route, the main road between Dublin and Sligo. Longford is also located on the Dublin - Sligo railway line.    

Investment by overseas companies in Longford include, Abbott Diagnostics ( diagnostic reagent products),  Magna Donnelly (Electronics System products), Activant/Triad Systems (CD-based inventory management systems for the automotive industry), Wessel Cable (telecommunications data cables), Cameron Ireland (valves for oil wells).