Twist in battle to retain 5,000 potential jobs

THERE has been a dramatic new twist in the tug-of-war battle between Kerry and Derry for a multi-billion euro pharmaceutical project that has the potential to create close on 5,000 new jobs.

Backers of the €4.7 billion project have been told by the Government they must present a firm business plan “at the very least” if they are to entertain any hopes of securing financial backing from state agencies such as the IDA and Enterprise Ireland.

The Global Pharmaceutical Centre of Excellence (GPCE) team warned they were considering abandoning plans to set up in Kerry and move the entire operation to the North because of alleged inaction by state agencies.

The GPCE leaders claim the IDA failed to engage fully with them and the reaction they received south of the border was in sharp contrast to the positive response from the equivalent agencies in the North.

But that complaint has been emphatically rejected by a senior IDA official who said the allegations made were unhelpful.

In a surprise intervention prior to crunch talks between the project backers and the IDA last night, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation John Perry said the GPCE team had not succeeded in developing the concept to a point where a firm business plan has been proposed.

He said a proper business plan was always necessary to enable state agencies to decide how much aid might be paid to any project.

At a recent meeting, Mr Perry noted the GPCE proposers were furnished with the necessary application forms to apply to Enterprise Ireland for financial support.

Mr Perry said the support and advice of all relevant state agencies and departments was available to GPCE promoters.

Mr Perry, responding to Kerry South TD Brendan Griffin, also insisted it was premature to talk of potential jobs being lost by Kerry to any alternative location.

The minister said he was certain if an application was submitted to the IDA for consideration, it would get all possible support to ensure the enterprise was located in Kerry.

He also called on the IDA to explain its record on the project as Mr Griffin claimed the agency appeared to have allowed the project to slip through its fingers.

However, GPCE leaders said last week that negotiations with Invest NI, the equivalent of the IDA in the North, are at an advanced stage and the entire project could move to Derry.