Planning process that caused Apple debacle must be put right
■ The latest Apple debacle, whereby the construction of a multi-million-euro data centre for the Athenry area of east Galway is now in serious doubt because of planning objections and delayed court decisions over a two-year period, is a disaster for rural Ireland and the west of the Shannon region in particular.
A project that was given the green light in 2015 by the American parent company, alongside a similar development in Denmark, finds itself bogged down in red tape, while the Danish plant is almost operational.
This sends out all the wrong signals to the rest of the world for this country, as a location that relies so heavily on foreign direct investment.
The lack of development of critical infrastructure and major job-creation programmes in rural Ireland leaves a regional development imbalance.
This needs to be tackled immediately, as more and more jobs are being created along the east coast, where similar objections and delays appear to be overcome without the looming threat of lost foreign direct investment.
The objectors and decisionmakers west of the Shannon need to wake up and smell the coffee if they are to prevent towns like Athenry dying on their feet for an apparent lack of foresight.
They need to say yes, rather than dither about making vital decisions that will have huge effects on thousands of lives for many years. The potential of 120 jobs to a small provincial town like Athenry, and the hundreds of jobs created during the construction phase, is a lifeline to so many small businesses in rural Ireland.
There is an urgent need to speed-up the planning process and court system decisions, and legislation should be brought forward immediately to facilitate this.
However, if Apple CEO Tim Cook and his fellow executives pull the plug on this proposed development, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, and a lot of lonely objectors around ‘The Fields Of Athenry’ for many years to come.
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