Galway Bay fm newsroom - The chief executive of IDA Ireland has called for a shake-up of the planning system in the wake of lengthy delays to Apple's plans for a data centre in Athenry.
The €850 million project was announced in February 2015 - but remains in limbo due to a judicial review sought by local residents.
Sinead Fitzpatrick and Allan Daly sought the review of the planning decision by An Bord Pleanala to grant permission on environmental grounds.
At the time Apple announced plans for a massive data centre project in Athenry, it also announced its intention to build a similar project in Denmark.
Over two years later, and the Danish centre has been completed - with tech giant Apple now considering developing a second centre in that country.
Meanwhile, the Athenry project remains in development hell over a series of lengthy delays - with many fearing Apple could be close to pulling the plug.
Two local objectors – Sinéad Fitzpatrick and Allan Daly - were granted requests for a judicial review of the planning decision by the High Court in October.
According to the Sunday Business Post, IDA Chief Executive Martain Shanahan is now calling for a shake-up of the planning system amid fears the considerable delays could lead to Athenry losing the project.
He says tight turnaround times are needed for big planning permissions - and the prospect of companies simply turning elsewhere is a very real danger.
The long-awaited decision on Apple’s plans for a data centre in Athenry is expected to be delivered in the Commerical Court on Thursday.
