Ryanair offered £67m grant to build engine facility in Northern Ireland
Ian Snowden, the Department for the Economy's top official, told MLAs a £67m subsidy would back a Ryanair engine maintenance facility in Northern Ireland — "the biggest inward investment for two decades" — creating up to 600 jobs.
A senior Stormont official has confirmed Ryanair will be offered a £67m subsidy to locate an engine maintenance facility in Northern Ireland, describing it as the biggest inward investment in the region for two decades.
Ian Snowden, the top official in the Department for the Economy, told MLAs the facility would create up to 600 jobs. He said £30m of the grant would come from the NI Enhanced Investment Zone (EIZ), £10m from his department and the remaining £27m from the UK government, which is currently under discussion. Snowden added that the executive would “backstop” the £27m, without expanding on what that meant in practice.
The EIZ is a UK government-funded initiative designed to promote investment and productivity in manufacturing. Details of the proposed grant were first reported by the Belfast Telegraph.
Ryanair is planning to bring its engine maintenance in-house at two facilities from 2029. Northern Ireland is competing with Spain and Poland to host one of them.
The Subsidy Advice Unit published its report on Invest Northern Ireland’s proposed subsidy to Ryanair Holdings plc on 2 October, assessing its compliance with the Subsidy Control Act 2022.
Sources: NewsATW / BBC; gov.uk — SAU report on the proposed subsidy to Ryanair Holdings plc by Invest Northern Ireland
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