Johnson & Johnson eyes Cork

CORK is in competition with Singapore and Puerto Rico for a potential multi-million euro investment by global pharmaceutical and healthcare company Johnson & Johnson, with the potential to create several hundred jobs.

Teams of Johnson & Johnson executives and consultants have visited the three locations over recent months and a final decision is expected from Johnson & Johnson's main board "within weeks".

The decision process is understood to be at a very sensitive stage and those promoting Ireland's case believe Cork has an excellent chance of securing the project.

"Competition is very intense and the fact that Johnson & Johnson already have committed more that €500m and counting to capital investment in Ireland is very much an advantage," a source familiar with the project said last night.

The new plant will employ in excess of 500 people in full production and will provide hundreds of high tech jobs on and off-site during its construction phase.

The IDA last night refused to comment on speculation but executives at existing Johnson & Johnson plants in Ireland have been active in pushing the case for Cork.

In particular the long term presence and success of the Janssen-Cilag Pharmaceutical plant at Little Island, Cork, where a €150m expansion is underway, is regarded as a major plus for Ireland.

Johnson & Johnson's main board have decided that strategically they need to develop a large scale biopharmaceutical facility and the project development team have narrowed the choice down to three locations; Cork, Singapore and Puerto Rico.

Cork has met all the bench marks required by Johnson & Johnson. While Singapore and Puerto Rico may be able to beat Ireland on corporation tax, the stability of the Irish Government tax policy is seen as a major advantage.

The Irish government's success in securing a veto on EU tax harmonisation in the proposed EU Constitution is regarded as crucial to Ireland taking a lead over the two rival locations.

The availability of a skilled and adaptable workforce and the success of UCC and Cork IT in producing a stream of suitably qualified graduates for the pharmaceutical sector are other factors in Ireland's favour.