Sound of silence over multinational’s move from Connemara to city

Details of discussions between two State agencies and three Ministers about a multinational company’s plans to move from Connemara to Galway City are being kept under wraps.

Earlier this year, it was confirmed that HID Global was moving from its South Connemara base in An Tulach, Baile na hAbhann, where it had been supported by Údarás na Gaeltachta for 20 years.

The company confirmed that it was setting-up a “European Centre of Excellence to support future growth and expansion” in Galway City.

Last February, HID Global said it was evaluating a city site and that all 104 employees in Connemara will be asked to relocate within 18 months.

It’s understood that the possibility of an Údarás supported company, moving out of the Gaeltacht, to an IDA Ireland site in the city, was raised at a meeting between the two State agencies in June last year.

Minutes of that meeting in Kildare Street on June 28 last – where the possibility of HID Global leaving Connemara is understood to have been flagged – were released to this newspaper under Freedom of Information (FOI).

However, large chunks of the minutes have been redacted by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation.

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation Heather Humphreys, and her advisor, were in attendance as were Junior Ministers, Galway West TD, Sean Kyne, and Joe McHugh.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.