Nearly 24 years ago, the site of the former Fitzgerald camp Army barracks in Fermoy in my constituency of Cork East was handed over to the IDA. Unfortunately, it has remained idle since, with no formal applications to operate on the site received in the last five years. This is despite the fact that this is a serviced site in a prime location only five minutes from the Cork to Dublin M8 motorway. I am sure the Taoiseach will agree that the development of such a site would be an enormous boost for the businesses in Fermoy and the wider Blackwater region. Therefore, can the Taoiseach clarify whether the IDA still considers this site strategically viable? If not, what alternatives could be considered?

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I am familiar with the Fitzgerald camp barracks. I will talk to the IDA and respond to the Deputy. Personally, I think that if the IDA has purchased the site, it is potentially a site that could attract foreign direct investment, FDI, into the Fermoy and north Cork area, which is important, if that is possible. I remember people in Carlow asking me many years ago if the IDA site could be used for something else, for domestic purposes. I asked them to hold on and, thankfully, we did. Why? It is because Merck, Sharpe and Dohme came in and is now manufacturing the highest value cancer drug in the world, Keytruda, in Carlow. I know people see an empty facility or spare ground and ask whether it can be filled with all sorts of things. I will talk to the IDA to see what the potential is. I will get clarity from it and then come back to the Deputy.