Apple move great news for rural Ireland
I am, of course, referring to the decision by Apple, maker of the iPhone, iPad, iMac, and many other iProducts to locate a new data centre in rural Galway.
The plant, which is planned to commence operations in 2017 and involves an investment of €850m, will power online services including iTunes, App Store, iMessage, Maps, and Siri for companies across Europe. A sister centre is planned for Viborg in Denmark, a city similar in size to Galway but also in a rural area, well away from the larger conurbations in Denmark. These projects are, according to Apple chief executive Tim Cook as “Apple’s biggest projects in Europe to date”.
IDA Ireland boss Martin Shanahan, has rightly labelled it as an important strategic investment. That it should make this decision when the EU is questioning its taxation payments in Europe makes such a decision even more gratifying.
Apple, then a fledgling computer company trying to make its mark with a different philosophy and a different type of computer, arrived in Cork in the early 1980’s. It grew exponentially, employing many thousands of folk from all over Ireland and elsewhere, and when market conditions changed and technology evolved, Apple in Cork changed to suit the circumstances also.
That it was allowed to do so is a testament to those managing the Cork plant and their bosses in Cupertino, California, and the willing and active support of the educational institutions and the investment agencies. Apple’s experience in Cork and in Ireland had been a good, even a great one and the company clearly decided that there was no reason to change a winning combination.
It is reported that this new facility in Athenry will be 166,000m sq, which will surely keep a lot of Irish builders in gainful employment and might even bring a few back from foreign shores. For those of us born before metres and centimeters became the norm, that area is about 1.7m sq ft.
It’s also great to see the reports that, in a spirit of social responsibility and working closely to the benefit of the local community, Apple will recover land, restore native trees in the nearby forest, and will also create an outdoor education space for local schools as well as a walking trail for the local community.
Long may such endeavours continue.
Ireland has been very successful in recent years in attracting data centres, and both Microsoft and Google are numbered among those locating in Ireland. Ireland not only boasts qualified people and attractive taxation policies but also has the sort of relatively predictable and moderate weather that such temperature-controlled environments require.
Indeed, given the green credentials it wishes to display, Apple might teach us all a few lessons on better care of the environment.
Of course, we cannot rest on our laurels. There are lots of other countries chasing after these investments and while technology continues to evolve rapidly and other countries become more competitive, we also need to continue to be at the top of our game. In recent years, there has been a fear that our educational system isn’t as good as it once was and others have now caught up with us. That has to change and Government has to play its part rather than make major long term decisions on the basis of short term political gain or loss.
It’s a testimony to the people of rural Ireland that while our own Government is running down rural Ireland by shutting vital and socially vital community services, and by reducing connectivity to the major urban locations by underpinning the demise of vital bus routes, companies such as Apple is happily willing to invest enormous sums of money in rural locations.
We can only hope that the effective running down of Cork Airport by this Government by not permitting Cork Airport to operate on the same level playing field as the other two main airports will not result in any loss in the considerable numbers of highly skilled jobs in the greater Cork area.
Paul Mills
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