‘NOT ALL ABOUT VISITS’ – IDA BOSS TAKES ON CRITICS[
IDA CEO MARTIN SHANAHAN ON HIS AGENCY’S COMMITMENT TO KERRY AND PLANS FOR ITS NEW TRALEE FACILITY
IDA CEO Martin Shanahan was in Tralee last week to attend the announcement of 50 new jobs at Borg Warner’s plant in the town.
During the visit Mr Shanahan agreed to sit down with The Kerryman to discuss his agency’s work and it’s plans for Tralee.
The first issue we tackled was the number of potential visitors the IDA have brought to Kerry in recent years.
The lack of visits to Kerry in comparison with the large number in Cork and Limerick is an issue that regularly sees the IDA harshly criticised by politicians and lobby groups.
Last year for example three companies were brought to Kerry while 49 each were brought to Limerick and Cork.
Mr Shanahan says he understands where the criticism comes from but he explains there is more to the IDA’s work than organising visits.
“Of course I would like to see visits to Kerry increase – and obviously they will with the development of the advanced manufacturing facility in Tralee – but visit aren’t everything,” he said
“One point I would make is that the first thing the IDA focuses on in any region is working with the existing clients to A) make sure their investment is going to continue and B) to win more investment from them,” said Mr Shanahan.
“Borg Warner is a great case in point. There wasn’t what is counted or termed as a ‘site visit’ but there are fifty new jobs being created there,” he said.
“Often there is too much focus on site visits. You need to take care of what you have.
The Advanced Manufacturing Facility Mr Shanahan refers to is a turnkey building that is currently under construction on a site at Kerry Technology Park.
The building is due to be complete by the end of May and the IDA head says he would be hopeful that a tenant can be found within in year.
“We’ve had discussions with a number of companies on it but we have no firm commitment at all at this stage,” he said.
“We’re at a very early stage and I would underline that it will take time typically the experience with these facilities is that from they point they are completed – and this one isn’t due to be completed until the end of May – it usually has taken in or around 12 months to find a tenant,” he said.
“The experience with these facilities has been good so far. The first we built was in Waterford and we sold that, nine months later to an international pharma company. The next one we completed was in Athlone and again around nine months later we leased it, and again to a pharma company,” said Mr Shanahan.
“We have others coming on stream now, including the facility in Tralee, and all the effort is going in to filling those,” he said.
“It just depends on the level of interest. Securing all investment is hard work that’s the bottom line and it will be hard work for this as well. However having a turnkey facility that’s ready for a client makes it much easier,” said Mr Shanahan.
The Abbeydorney native insisted that the IDA is fully committed to Kerry but he outlined the challenges when it comes to attracting investment.
“It’s hard to get companies to go anywhere that there isn’t population density, that’s the difficulty. We’re dealing with companies who are coming with their own specific ideas about where they want to be and what kind of environment they want to be in,” he said.
“One of the most difficult things from our perspective is convincing companies that they will get the skills they need in any particular location, that’s even true in the large cities.”
“One of the attractions from a Kerry perspective is that there is an institute of technology here. Another major advantage is the airport and the quality train service. Road access does need to be improved there’s no doubt about that,” he said
“Two of the biggest attributes is quality of life and cost of living in Kerry. Kerry also has an advantage in that it has international brands of its own. Killarney is an international brand in terms of tourism and the Rose of Tralee is a recognised international brand,”
“These are all things that can be built on and we have to be sure we can make the most of them,” said Mr Shanahan.