€4.7bn project may be moved up North

THE backers of a multi-billion euro pharmaceutical project, which has the potential to create 5,000 jobs, have threatened to scrap plans to set up inKerry and move the entire operation to the North.

They have blamed alleged inaction by state agencies and claim that the IDA has failed to engage fully with the project leaders. It is in sharp contrast to the positive response they received from the equivalent agencies in the North which have embraced their proposals.

The €4.7 billion Global Pharmaceutical Centre of Excellence (GPCE) had expressed a desire to set up in Tralee and the project received enthusiastic backing from Kerry’s local authorities, business bodies, community groups and a general public excited by the prospect of the creation of 5,000 new jobs.