Ireland: Diageo gets approval to construct new brewery in Newbridge, Co Kildare

An Bord Pleanála has given the green light to drinks giant Diageo to construct its planned €200m brewery for Newbridge, Co Kildare, the Irish Examiner reported on December 11.

The new brewery at Littleconnell will create 70 jobs when operational and up to 1,000 jobs during the 20-month construction period.

The new facility, which will operate 24 hours per day 365 days a year, is to brew lagers and ales including Rockshore, Harp, Hop House 13, Smithwick’s, Kilkenny, and Carlsberg. As production is transferred to the new facility, it will enable St James’s Gate to increase the production of Guinness to meet global demand.

In a statement, Diageo said it expects to commence construction work on the project “in early 2024”.

A Diageo spokeswoman said: “This €200m investment by Diageo in Ireland will support the growth of our beer brands while meeting our targets to be net zero by 2030. The benefits of this project are compelling and we expect to commence work to commence in early 2024.”

Kildare County Council had granted planning permission for the project back in March but the brewery plan was stalled after a man at the centre of RTÉ Investigates allegations concerning payoffs to objectors in the planning system, John Callaghan through his Sustainability 2050 entity appealed the decision, while a separate appeal by a John Lynch from Athy, Co Kildare was also lodged.

Mr Callaghan withdrew his appeal on November 23 and confirmed last week that no financial inducement was sought or offered in connection with the withdrawal.

In an interview, Mr Callaghan said he never had a meeting with Diageo or anyone representing Diageo concerning the Sustainability 2050 appeal in connection with the brewery plan.

This was confirmed by a spokeswoman for Diageo who said: “We have not had contact of any kind with the individuals behind Sustainability 2050 either directly or indirectly.” The appeal remained ‘live’ with the John Lynch appeal.

An Bord Pleanála had twice deferred a decision on the appeal due its backlog in cases. In September, Diageo warned that the project is time-sensitive “and further delays will jeopardise the rationale for this €200m investment in Ireland”.

The brewery is to be built on a 21.36-hectare site at the IDA Newbridge Business and Technology Park.

The appeals board granted planning permission for the Diageo proposal after concluding that it would not give rise to a risk of serious pollution given its regulation under licence from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

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