Centre would be crucial to breathe new life into town that’s ‘dying a slow death’
LOCAL businesses fear it will get even more lonely round the streets of Athenry if the €850m Apple data centre planned for the town fails to materialise.
Those fears grew on Thursday night after Taoiseach Leo Varadkar failed to elicit assurances from Apple CEO Tim Cook that the project is still viable, during a private meeting with him in California this week.
The tech giant announced plans for the investment in 2015 but it has been plagued by planning setbacks – even though the High Court issued a ruling earlier this week that cleared the way for the development to begin.
Mr Cook reportedly said the company would only “continue to consider Athenry in the context of their future plans” despite assurances given to the Taoiseach in late September that the centre would proceed once the planning issues were sorted out.
But Joey Burke (27), who took over the family run Burke’s hardware store four years ago when he returned from a stint in Australia, said the town is “dying a slow death” despite the so-called recovery.
“There’s no footfall. There’s only one supermarket,” he said.
Local residents and businesses were looking to the centre to breathe new economic life into the town.
“It’s not even what Apple will bring. It opens the gateway for more companies to come to Athenry and hopefully more footfall and business,” he said.
While he remains hopeful that the centre will open, he’s not holding his breath after learning of the latest development in California.
“It’s deflating, especially considering the work a lot have done to bring Apple here. We thought it would give Athenry a kick-start.”
But local haberdasher Declan Rooney, owner of Rooney’s Menswear in the town, said he thinks Apple will eventually open the centre, but will do it in its own time, out of annoyance in facing ongoing planning hurdles.
“I think Apple could leave it for about six to eight months once they have planning permission,” he said.
But he remains hopeful that the centre will open eventually and bring with it a 10-15pc economic bounce to the town.
“As it is things are okay, but we could use more,” he said.
But Paul Keane, a technology entrepreneur who heads the Athenry for Apple campaign group, said the 6,000-strong lobby group has not lost faith.
“I think Apple is still committed, they haven’t pulled out yet,” he said. “
“I think today’s news is a positive message that they’re still committed.”