Amazon has scrapped plans to build a large industrial plant in Dublin after being unable to secure a power supply for the €300 million project.
500 jobs that were set to be created by the facility now seem to be off the table.
Newstalk Breakfast presenter Shane Coleman said that this could be the beginning of a “really dangerous” trend.
“It is a huge wakeup call, if a wakeup call was needed,” he said.
“The chickens are hugely coming home to roost, and you know what? Okay, at the moment we have full employment, and 500 jobs lost is not the end of the world.
“But if it’s the beginning of a trend where multinationals are not going to come here, then it is really, really dangerous.”
Shane said the situation with Amazon points to a “chronic failure to invest in infrastructure”.
Workers clearing a fallen tree on Grove Park Drive in Dublin as ESB networks continue to reconnect homes and businesses across the country after Storm Eowyn wreaked havoc throughout the country. Picture date: Sunday January 26, 2025. Image: PA Images / AlamyFellow presenter Jonathan Healy, in for Ciara Kelly, said “all of this is an absolute abdication of responsibility”.
“I think politicians have a lot to take on,” he said.
“I mean, no politician is ever there at the opening of a substation, and there’s a reason for that.
“Not glamorous, but politicians need to take a bit more responsibility.”
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However, Shane said local objections to infrastructure projects should also be highlighted as a contributing factor to the issue.
“You know what, we always blame politicians,” he said.
“Maybe we also need to look in the mirror as well as that.”
Main image: Shane Coleman in studio. Image: Newstalk
