• Diageo, makers of Guinness, to submit planning application for a €200m brewery in Newbridge
  • Facility will brew lagers and ales and will be first brewery built by Diageo in Ireland since the 1960s

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and T.D. for Kildare South Martin Heydon has hailed plans announced by Diageo to build a new €200m brewery in Newbridge as a massive vote of confidence in Kildare.

The new brewery will be the first built by the company in Ireland since the 1960s and will have the capacity to brew 2 million hectoliters of lagers and ales, the equivalent of almost one billion pints a year.

Minister Heydon said: “Diageo’s confirmation that they will submit a planning application for a carbon neutral brewery on a greenfield site in Littleconnell in Newbridge comes after much behind the scenes work to secure this massive investment for Kildare South.

“I have worked closely with Diageo in recent times in my role as Minister of State in the Department of Agriculture. Huge credit is due to Kildare County Council officials, Enterprise Ireland, and the IDA for their work on this project. I am delighted that all the efforts to deliver this investment in Kildare South have finally paid off.

“Diageo’s decision to invest in this site in Newbridge is a huge vote of confidence in Kildare South as a location for investment and employment. We have a talented, well-educated workforce, many of whom commute to Dublin for work. I am determined to deliver top quality employment opportunities in Kildare.

“The facility on this 50ac site will be Diageo’s second largest brewing operation in Ireland after St James’s Gate and in the heartland of where much of the grain for their beers is grown. It will create up to 1,000 jobs in the construction phase followed by 50 direct, high-quality jobs once built with significant scope for further expansion.

“I want to commend Diageo for their vision in constructing Ireland’s first purpose-built carbon neutral brewery. This will future proof its operations and fits with our plans to transition to a low carbon economy while further increasing the economic value of our food and drink sector.

“Arthur Guinness was born in Kildare almost 300 years ago. He founded Guinness Brewery at St James’s Gate in 1759 and this new facility, which is due to commence brewing in 2024, will strengthen those Kildare links even further,” concluded Minister Heydon.