The tallest office building so far developed in Cork City, Penrose Dock next to Kent Rail Station at up to nine storeys, is setting an even more impressive record: its first core and lift shaft is up to full height, less than a year after the €125m project on the city’s north quays first applied for planning permission.

The 1,000 jobs created in Cork in the past month show how the city “has become a much more competitive location” than Dublin, according to Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney.

IRELAND’S first stroke centre, which opens in Cork within weeks, will be the most advanced of its kind in Europe.