Galway to miss out on 10,000 jobs bonanza?
Reports have surfaced this week that Galway could be set to lose out to Germany in the battle for Intel’s favour – with the multinational said to be leaning towards Saxony for its 10,000-job microchip factory.
It emerged in September that the tech giant had identified a 540-acre site in Oranmore – owned by the Defence Forces – as one of ten locations on a shortlist for its €10 billion ‘mega fabrication’ plant in the EU.
However, the Irish Independent has reported that Intel has already selected Germany – dropping Galway for a development that could create up to 80,000 spin-off jobs that would transform the local economy.
A spokesperson for Intel denied that any decision had been made as yet and TD for Galway West, Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív said it was his belief that the IDA would pursue the project until ‘the bitter end’.
“There was never anything certain about this project because there is a strong market out there but what I would say is there are plenty of fish in the sea – we should never forget the ‘acorn projects’, that is smaller companies that have the potential to grow,” said the Fianna Fáil TD.
Deputy Ó Cuív said the site selected as part of this process was a ‘golden opportunity’ and even if it was the case that Intel had chosen another location, that opportunity remained.
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