Diageo has announced plans to open a new brewery for lagers and ales in Co Kildare.
The €200 million facility in Newbridge will create 50 jobs directly, and is set to be operational from 2024.
The global drinks giant said it will be Ireland's first purpose-built carbon-neutral brewery on a greenfield site. The facility will brew lagers and ales including Rockshore, Harp, Hop House 13, Smithwick’s, Kilkenny and Carlsberg.
The opening of the brewery will mean Diageo's St James' Gate site in Dublin will produce more stout for global markets.
Diageo is to submit a planning application to Kildare County Council in September and, if successful, plans to commence brewing in 2024 following a construction period of approximately two years.
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Leo Varadkar said the Diageo investment was “really great news for the future development of Ireland’s thriving food and drink industry, and also for the wider national economy”.
“It’s also extremely positive for Newbridge and the local economy in Kildare, with up to 1,000 jobs being created during the construction of the site and 50 once built … Industry has a role to play and I’m really pleased to see Diageo taking the lead and investing in this carbon-neutral brewery, which I’m sure will be a leading example for others.”
Colin O’Brien of Diageo said the group’s plans for a brewery in Kildare, and developments at St James’s Gate, would enable sustainable growth in overall beer exports from Ireland.
“We are fully committed to embedding sustainability across our business … by becoming carbon-neutral in our direct operations.”
The Newbridge facility will initially use wood-chip boilers and switch to renewable electricity through contracts with external suppliers, said Mr O’Brien, while St James’s Gate will use biogas if it becomes available in the quantities needed or electric boilers.
