LCC working to create jobs

OVER 200 new jobs have been created in Drogheda over the past two years thanks to the work done by Louth County Council and the IDA.

In a presentation to councillors at the May meeting of Drogheda Municipal District, Director of Services Mary T Daly said the council’s strategy in attracting Foreign Direct Investment to the town had been to start small and build from there and this was clearly working as evidenced by the fact that Kelltontech have recently decided to develop their European base in Drogheda.

She said the past two years had been productive with 50 jobs created by Yapstone when they moved to the M1 retail park last September and 100 jobs to be created by Kelltontech over the next five years as well as 20 new positions announced at Becton, Dickinson and Company last September.

This year, a further 150 new jobs are in the pipelne with the opening of MIT on Magdalene Street.

She said the Yapstone premises is a global call centre so it is anticipated there will be more jobs announced there.

‘ The council through the Louth Economic Forum, would have worked very hard with the IDA to ensure these sites were targeted for Foreign Direct Investment and to make sure there were no obstacles in the way for any companies that were interested in relocating here,’ she said.

‘We’re very focused on getting as many jobs as we can for Drogheda and I think we’re succeeding. The basis would be start small and build on that and that’s true for the likes of Yapstone and Keltontech.’

Councillor Kevin Callan said it was fantastic to see the likes of Yapstone and Keltontech coming to Drogheda and said it was great to see the council taking a lead and not just waiting on the IDA.

Councillor Pio Smith said he was concerned that Drogheda was lagging behind on job creation compared to other parts of the country and asked why that was. He also asked if the IDA and the council are looking at areas other than the USA for Foreign Direct Investment.

Councillor Paul Bell said some of the problems Drogheda faces is the type of industry we are trying to attract.

‘When you talk about manufacturing jobs there’s a kind of shrugging of shoulders and a feeling that all these jobs have gone to the Far East. I don’t think that’s the case,’ he said.

Councillor Kenneth Flood said that with Brexit happening in the next two years there will be significant opportunities for Ireland. he said there is a lot of talk about Pharmaceutical companies moving to Ireland.