John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The two Deputies raising this matter will have two and a half minutes each to speak.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this matter. The announcement by Amgen has come as a body-blow to the east Cork region. The economic loss to Carrigtwohill and surrounding areas is unquantifiable. I empathise with those people who have lost their jobs in the company. While global corporate entities like Amgen are subject to the vagaries of international markets, the people of the region accepted in good faith statements made by the company in April that a delay of two years in the project would not amount to a complete cessation of it. I put it to the Minister that a second announcement yesterday to the effect that the project is indefinitely postponed is nothing more than spin and a deliberate attempt to play down the decision not to proceed. Anyone with common sense must conclude that two postponements in six months is tantamount to a cessation.

The Government has serious questions to answer. Questions arise as to whether Amgen or IDA Ireland is the beneficial owner of the site at which the project was to proceed. We must also ask what will happen to the site in the event of a further postponement or acknowledgement of cessation. The project was to be the mainstay of the region and Middleton, Youghal and other centres of population had placed their bets on it. Many young people invested in housing in the region on foot of the promise of foreign direct investment by Amgen. I put it to the Minister that we have been dealt a hammer blow and that people are extremely disappointed. Expectation in this context has not been managed well by the Government, which now has a serious case to answer. The Minister has a responsibility to deliver to the people of the region.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I am grateful to the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to speak on this matter. An €800 million investment has been lost to Cork in particular and Munster and Ireland in general. One of the largest factories ever to be established in Ireland seems now to be gone. It is a disgrace, therefore, that we can only spend two and a half minutes talking about it in the House. It is no wonder the House is being lampooned across the country when we are not allowed to talk about something as important as this for more than two and a half minutes.

Deputy Ned O'Keeffe is suggesting the Government knew or should have known that this announcement would be made. I would like the Minister to comment on that. I would also like to know what will happen to the infrastructure. The situation in the vicinity of the site is a mess with a 60 km/h speed limit on a main, arterial dual carriageway route. It is dangerous and it should never have been permitted. I want the Minister to indicate that the Government will ensure the necessary roadworks, which should have been completed years ago, will be carried out at the site.

Will the Minister tell the House what will happen at the site now? Will it be left to become a weed-grown eyesore at the side of the road? What discussions will he enter into with Amgen? Will the Government make available time to allow a proper debate on this most urgent, serious issue? Does the Minister not agree that it is a disgrace to provide Opposition Deputies with only two and a half minutes each to speak? After ten years as a Member, I am given two and a half minutes in which to raise the matter and I cannot even question the Minister on it. It is no wonder the House is lampooned and laughed at across the country.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to discuss this issue and to put on record the situation regarding Amgen, which involves no mystery or secrecy whatsoever. In fact, I contacted Deputies yesterday to inform them in advance that Amgen would make a public announcement to the workforce at 2 p.m. We all share the fundamental objective of wanting to bring investment into the country and we work through IDA Ireland to attract that investment. We do not control the boardrooms of the companies concerned or how events play out among regulatory authorities in the United States. We do everything we can to advance employment in the interest of the people of this country. That reality must be taken on board.

I am deeply disappointed by the announcement by Amgen that it is postponing its planned investment in the plant at Carrigtwohill, County Cork, because my Department and the IDA put a lot of work into the matter. Ireland won this project from the largest biotechnology company in the world in the face of strong competition from Singapore and Switzerland. Amgen received planning permission from Cork County Council in September 2006 for site development and ancillary road works on a significant and expensive application. These activities commenced in November 2006.

The company has already invested over $100 million in site acquisition, conceptual design and site clearance and preparation. The decision by Amgen does not reflect in any way on the business environment here. Amgen has been laudatory of the responsiveness of all the public authorities in Ireland, including county councils, IDA Ireland and the Government. The decision has been made as a result of a review of its own operations and is based purely on developments related to the company's global business. It is in no way related to the economic or competitive environment in Ireland.

This decision follows from a substantial drop in its share price. The company commenced a global production capacity review in August 2007 which resulted in the announcement of job cuts and the closure of some facilities including manufacturing. Following a further assessment of manufacturing capacity by the company, IDA Ireland and I learned only yesterday that Amgen has decided to indefinitely postpone its planned design and build of its bulk manufacturing facility in County Cork. The decision was communicated directly to us by Amgen through a conference call. We had already arranged to meet Amgen within the next fortnight but there was no anticipation of the decision. With the IDA, we go on various trade missions and meet a range of companies.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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That is what Deputy Ned O'Keeffe said.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We will be making a week-long trip to the west coast, where we will meet a number of companies. This decision is disappointing for the region and the country, and particularly for the 79 staff directly affected. I am conscious that many of the employees left good jobs to work with Amgen because the company was seen as a significant opportunity for career advancement.

Amgen has informed us that it wants to maintain ownership of the site. We were not disappointed the company articulated that position because this is a volatile sector with a cyclical nature. In terms of the site issues raised by Deputy Stanton, consultations are ongoing between the county council and the company. We will tease out that issue further in our forthcoming meetings with Amgen.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Am I allowed to make a point of order?

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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All Deputies are allowed to make points of order.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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On a point of order, the Minister said he is teasing out the ownership of the site.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Amgen has told us it wants to retain ownership.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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That needs to be a distinguished comment.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The company has said that.

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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For the record, Deputy Sherlock did not make a point of order.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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People have asked about the medium and long term. I was trying to respond to the issues raised by Deputy Stanton and others and I am conscious that a significant investment has been made in infrastructure. The east County Cork region has been identified as an area of significant growth and the site has significant utilities attached to it, so it clearly has the potential to house a similar type of enterprise.

Ireland continues to win substantial pharmaceutical and bio-pharmaceutical investments. There are currently 133 IDA supported enterprises in Cork city and county. Since 2002, five IDA assisted life sciences companies have invested in Carrigtwohill and have increased their employment there from 943 to 1726. This net increase of 783 jobs in Carrigtwohill is very significant and underlines the potential of the area for further job creation.

Recent announcements in Cork include IBM, GSK, Allen Vanguard, VMware, Eli Lilly and PepsiCo, Blizzard Entertainment, Apex Funds and SolarWinds. Direct employment in IDA supported companies in Cork city and county has grown from 12,449 in 1997 to 19,977 in 2006. That is the positive backdrop to the situation in terms of inward investment. We have more work to do and I am aware people want increased investment. Clearly, people are disappointed as a result of the Amgen decision. I appreciate the articulation of that concern by the Deputies representing the people of the area. We will do everything we can to win further investment.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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The Minister might provide Government time next week for a debate on the issue.