Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for the update. When County Kerry is included with Cork city and county in those south-west figures, the lack of foreign direct investment, proportionately, in County Kerry often gets masked. It is important to acknowledge that Kerry does not punch as heavily as we should and we need to widen our economic base. We depend too much on the tourism and hospitality sector for employment in the county and we need to spread that. That is why I am raising this matter. It is important that we have a new advance facility for Tralee. I am not being cynical but I seem to have got the same answer for the last three years about the progress on this. It is a very noble ambition but I would like to see more progress on this now. I ask the Minister to apply his direct attention to this project, which would be marvellous for Tralee. Each response I have received since 2020 has more or less outlined the same level of progress, or lack thereof.

The news about Astellas and JRI America is fantastic. However, Central Pharma was the last advance facility to be announced for Tralee. Five years after that announcement, nobody is working in that building in Tralee. There should be up to 100 people there now. Given the amount of revenue forgone and the number of jobs forgone, the Minister needs to review that advance facility. He needs to talk to IDA Ireland about what is happening there because Tralee deserves better than that.

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