IDA Ireland has not yet put together a planning application for a new building in Tralee which it originally said it would deliver by the end of 2024.
The IDA had committed to delivering its second building on lands at the Kerry Technology Park in its previous strategy, which ran until 2024.
Its newest plan, which runs until 2029, no longer commits to building a new facility in Tralee, but instead commits to secure planning permission for a client company to build one.
In its previous plan, Driving Recovery and Sustainable Growth 2021-2024, IDA Ireland put in writing it would deliver an advanced building solution in Tralee by the end of 2024.
The IDA had delivered its first such building in Tralee at the Kerry Technology Park in Dromtacker at a cost of €5 million, which was leased by UK-based Central Pharma from 2018 until February 2024.
A report by consultants RPS on behalf of the IDA, previously released to Radio Kerry under FOI, showed that a site in front of that former Central Pharma building had been identified as the preferred site for a new building.
Last April, IDA Ireland told Radio Kerry an advanced planning permission for such a facility would be lodged with Kerry County Council by the end of 2024.
The IDA since released its latest plan, Adapt Intelligently: A Strategy for Sustainable Growth and Innovation 2025-29.
In this, it says IDA Ireland will progress partnerships with local authorities for the delivery of advance planning permissions in regional locations, and this is currently underway in Kerry.
In this process, the IDA and Kerry County Council appoint a design team, then design and seek planning permission for a new building.
The IDA has confirmed to Radio Kerry it’s not envisaged that the property will be constructed by the IDA or by Kerry County Council, but potentially by an interested client.
It says this offers maximum flexibility and another option for clients to consider when marketing a location.
The Kerry project is currently at the design and feasibility phase, and once this is complete, IDA Ireland will then submit a planning application.
Despite originally committing to delivering the building by the end of 2024, the IDA now says the timeline for building on the site will now depend on when a client company selects the site as its preferred location.
Separately, the company Astellas took over the lease of the IDA’s first building last year, and also announced it would build a €330 million facility on lands at the back of the Technology Park.
