€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.

Giant billboards welcoming the project had been erected on roadsides throughout the county and the first phase of the initiative was to result in four companies creating close on 300 jobs within the next year.

But there is consternation in Kerry this week after the GPCE leaders revealed that negotiations with Invest NI, the equivalent of the IDA in the North, are at an advanced stage and the entire project is likely to move to Derry.

It is understood the initial 287 jobs planned for Tralee have already been earmarked for the North with the potential to create a further 1,500 posts in the short to medium term.

GPCE spokesman Rory Doyle claimed the reaction from the state agencies in Northern Ireland was far more enthusiastic than that received south of the border and that the company had now withdrawn from contact with the IDA.

He said he still hoped the Tralee project could be achieved but a hard decision has to be made within the next three weeks.

Mr Doyle confirmed, however, that even if the Tralee plan were to proceed, at this stage it would be on a much scaled-down basis.

Kerry-based Minister Jimmy Deenihan has slated the inaction of the IDA which has led to the real risk that Tralee will lose out.

“The IDA have not been over-productive when it came to this project. They have never been enthusiastic about the project and have been consistently dismissive of it,” he said.

But the IDA has rejected any criticisms of its involvement and a spokesman said the agency is open at all times to engagement with the GPCE promoters.

Mr Deenihan has raised the matter with Enterprise Minister Richard Bruton and an urgent meeting with senior IDA and Enterprise Ireland officials is being sought.

The €4.7bn Global Pharmaceutical Centre of Excellence was to be set up in a new campus-style facility in Tralee with a corporate and commercial orientation.