E-Malt.com News article: Ireland: Diageo gets permission to double brewing capacity at Kildare brewery

Kildare County Council has granted planning permission for plans by Guinness producer Diageo to double the brewing capacity at its brewery at Littleconnell, Co Kildare, The Irish Times reported on 25.

The extra investment, estimated at €259 million, will generate 800 to 1,000 jobs during the construction phase. The plan to boost the brewery’s capacity to 4.5 million hectolitres at the site will bring Diageo’s overall investment to an estimated €459 million.

There was no third party objection lodged against the planning application.

“We welcome the decision by Kildare County Council to grant planning permission for the planned expansion of our Littleconnell brewery in County Kildare, marking an important milestone for the project,” a Diageo spokeswoman said on March 25.

The plans for the 40-acre site at the IDA Newbridge Business and Technology Park at Littleconnell will include a 9,333sq m “Brewery 2″ building.

Construction work on the brewery at the site has been continuing since June 2024, and brewing at “Brewery 1″ is on schedule to start this year.

Diageo had already earmarked the Co Kildare brewery as a production hub for lager and ales, including Rockshore, Harp, Hop House 13, Smithwick’s, Kilkenny and Carlsberg.

The planned doubling of capacity will result in the plant becoming a production hub for Guinness and Guinness 0.0 growth in emerging markets.

A planning report by John Spain & Associates said “the proposed works will increase brewing capacity on site for Diageo’s alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages such as stouts including Guinness and Guinness 0.0”.

St James’s Gate in Dublin is currently the only Diageo site in the world where Guinness 0.0 is brewed, while Guinness is brewed in many locations.

St James’s Gate will continue to brew for its largest and most established markets, including Ireland, the UK and the US.

The John Spain report said, “The proposed development will make efficient use of the site within the existing IDA Newbridge Business and Technology Park (Littleconnell) and is appropriately zoned with an overall objective to provide for and improve industrial and warehousing development.”

A separate report by Malone O’Regan Environmental lodged with the planning application said the proposed development would “also result in a significant step forward in Diageo’s commitment to sustainable brewing, as it will set an industry gold standard for energy and water efficiency”.

The report states that, when operational, the proposed development will employ 70 “and will deliver long-term economic and employment benefits to the region”.


26 March, 2026