An artists impression of the proposed data centre. Source: Irish Times "While disappointing, this setback will not dampen our enthusiasm for future projects in Ireland'' - Apple
Tech giant Apple has announced it will no longer pursue its plans to build a new data centre in Athenry, Co Galway.
The decision comes in the wake of objections to the proposed €850m facility, which were taken to the Supreme Court in December.
That action followed High Court judgement in November which had seemingly paved the way for the works to begin.
Apple's plan had been to build a state-of-the-art data centre on a 500 acre site just outside of Athenry, Co. Galway.
However, a number of local residents raised concerns about the potential environmental impact of the project.
In the wake of the Supreme Court announcement, Apple released the following statement:
"We’ve been operating in Ireland since 1980 and we're proud of the many contributions we make to the economy and job creation. In the last two years we've spent over €550 million with local companies and, all told, our investment and innovation supports more than 25,000 jobs up and down the country.
"While disappointing, this setback will not dampen our enthusiasm for future projects in Ireland as our business continues to grow.”
Business Minister Heather Humphreys said she regrets the decision.
"I very much regret that Apple will not be pursuing its plans to construct a data centre in Athenry, especially as the project would have been a source of significant investment and job creation for Galway and the West of Ireland.
"Notwithstanding this bad news, I welcome that Apple have confirmed that they are strongly committed to their existing operations in Ireland."
