Farmer who took on IDA now takes aim at US computer giant

By Gordon Deegan

A Co. Kildare farmer who went to court with the Irish Development Authority (IDA) and came out victorious is now planning to obstruct the construction of a €3.5 billion computer chip facility in the county.

Thomas Reid has lodged an official objection to the planning application by US micro chip giant Intel for the new installation at its pre-existing plant in Leixlip, on the border between counties Kildare and Dublin.

Reid has frequently been at loggerheads with the company; this is the seventh application from Intel Leixlip that he has objected to since 2012.

In 2016, Intel secured permission for the first phase of the new facility. That phase, plus this new development, should it go ahead, would represent a total €7 billion investment, and will possibly employ 6,000 construction workers and 1,600 full-time staff.

It would also represent the largest single private investment in the history of the state.

Reid lodged an official objection – comprising two hand-written pages – to Kildare County Council; he will now be able to appeal any decision the council makes to An Bord Pleanala.

Reid, who is from Maynooth, said in his objection that the plans were contrary to the proper planning and development of the area.

In 2017, Reid was unsuccessful in objecting to the first phase of Intel’s facility.

Kildare County Council is set to make a decision on Intel’s planning application before the end of this month.

IDA

Reid hit the headlines in 2015 when the Supreme Court found that the IDA’s compulsory purchase order on his 72ac farm – adjacent to the Intel plant – was in excess of the authority’s powers.

This overturned an earlier High Court decision which would have allowed the IDA to purchase the site against his wishes.

That case left the IDA with a legal bill of €1.375 million.