A pre-election announcement by the Taoiseach of 300 new jobs at a new Elan pharmaceutical plant in Macroom, Co Cork, was made before the expansion was approved by the company board, it emerged last night.
Mr Ahern announced the creation of 300 jobs in a ?60 million development by Elan at the former GSI plant in the north Cork town on April 18th last, just six days before he called the general election.
The announcement came on a day dubbed "Golden Thursday" by the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, as she and Mr Ahern announced 1,300 new jobs around the country.
Elan has since abandoned the proposed investment in Macroom because of a cost-cutting and restructuring programme aimed at ensuring its long-term survival.
Yesterday the new chairman of Elan, Dr Garo Armen, indicated that the company had made no firm commitment to the development in the first place.
Asked whether the proposed investment in the Macroom facility had been approved by the board of Elan before it was announced, Dr Armen said that to the best of his knowledge it had not.
"It was a loose understanding and generally things don't come to the attention of the board until a firm commitment is made," he told reporters after Elan's annual meeting.
Last night a spokesman for the Taoiseach said the then chairman of Elan, Mr Donal Geaney, was in Macroom for the Taoiseach's announcement. "It is a matter for Elan," he said. News that a replacement industry for GSI had been found was widely welcomed in the town which has been badly affected by the huge loss of spending power in the region, valued at more than ?40 million annually.
Mr Ahern said the new jobs were a reminder that the economy remained sound and the international economic climate was improving and that Elan's decision to locate in Macroom was a vote of confidence in the town.
He said the new plant would be operational in the first quarter of 2005 and would produce Antegren, a drug now in the third phase of clinical trials, developed for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease by Elan and its partner, Biogen.
Mr Geaney resigned as chairman and chief executive of the company in early July after the Athlone-based pharmaceutical giant saw its shares lose 98 per cent of their value this year.
Mr Geaney was last year appointed chairman of the Government's National Pension Reserve Fund by the Minister for Finance. After he resigned from Elan, Mr McCreevy said that he had every faith in Mr Geaney as chair of the pension fund and would not be asking him to resign his position.
The announcement of new jobs by Mr Ahern and Ms Harney on April 18th provoked furious reaction from opposition politicians, who criticised the Taoiseach and Tanaiste for travelling around the State to attend pre-election jobs announcements in key constituencies while the Dail remained in session.
They presided at announcements of 1,300 jobs in Cork, Limerick, Birr and Galway.