Seagate top recipient of state funding in NI

Two separate subsidiaries of Seagate Technology based in the North West received offers of 31.46million in state assistance from Invest Northern Ireland (Invest NI) between 2002 and the present day.

By the end of February 28.36million of this had been paid. This resulted in the creation of 585 jobs, which was in excess of the 343 jobs originally projected.

In 2005/6 Seagate Technology (Ireland) - the Londonderry-based plant - was offered 13.72million by the state. 13.63million of this has been paid to date with 333 jobs created. This offer alone was the third highest made to any firm in Northern Ireland since April 2002.

Three years earlier in 2002/3 the same company - Seagate Technology (Ireland) - was offered 10million by Invest NI. This has since been paid out in full resulting in the creation of 252 jobs in the North West.

But payments to the firm’s Limavady-based operation - which closed with the loss of almost 1000 jobs in 2008 - were not as successful as those to its sister plant in the Maiden City.

An offer of 7.76million to Seagate Technology Media (Ireland) in 2005/6 - of which 4.73million was eventually paid - ultimately failed to safeguard 787 jobs in Limavady for any significant length of time.

Although outlining the figures in response to a query tabled at the Stormont Assembly, Investment Minister Arlene Foster said this state assistance did maintain these jobs in Limavady for a period of months.

She explained: “The Seagate Technology Media offer in 2005/06 supported the safeguarding of 787 jobs and was not designed to promote new jobs. This project had maintained these jobs at 31st December 2007. Subsequently, this location was closed (Oct 2008).”

She also explained: “Commitments to create new jobs are delivered over a period of time - perhaps up to five years. As such there is a lag between offers made and the actual creation of jobs.

“This means that more recent offers are not likely to have reached their job creation potential. In addition, some of the assistance offered by Invest NI will not be paid if the client does not fully deliver the proposed project.”

Listed alongside Seagate in the top ten recipients were Bombardier Aerospace - Short Brothers Plc, Randox Laboratories Ltd, FG Wilson (Engineering) Ltd, NYSE Technologies Development Ltd, Almac Clinical Services Limited, Citibank International Plc and Coca-Cola Hbc Northern Ireland Ltd. In total 62million was paid out to these companies and 2,025 jobs created since April 2002.