80 new jobs are to be created at a cheese plant in County Kilkenny.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, has turned the sod at the site in Belview today, which will provide 400 construction jobs.
The facility was stuck in a legal dispute for a number of years, with An Taisce arguing that granting planning permission would go against the Government’s policy on climate action.
The new facility will be one of the most efficient and sustainable continental cheese production facilities in Europe. It will support the incomes of over 4,500 family farms. Once opened, the Kilkenny Cheese Limited facility at Belview will offer high-skill opportunities with 80 jobs.
The facility, which is being built by Kilkenny Cheese Ltd, a joint venture between family-owned Dutch dairy producer Royal A-Ware and Glanbia Co-op, will have a footprint of 18,000 square metres. It will produce over 50,000 tonnes of continental cheese per year, which will be brought to ma
rket by Royal A-ware through their established channels.
The sod-turning was performed by Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar and Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue. Welcoming the new development project in the south-east, the Tánaiste said: “It’s an honour to be in Belview today to turn the sod on this brand new €200m continental cheese facility. It’s a huge boost for the south-east which has experienced significant and long overdue investment and jobs growth in the past year or two. The UK’s decision to leave the European Union was a seismic event for Ireland’s agrifood sector and the over 163,000 people it employs here. Our business owners and farmers have risen to every challenge in the past number of years, and there have been many, and have worked incredibly hard to protect jobs and even grow business.”
