The Dáil has heard that Apple remains committed to its Data Centre in Athenry despite planning delays.

The €850m investment has been held up for years as a similar centre, announced at the same time for Denmark, nears completion.

A decision of the Commercial Court is expected shortly.

This afternoon, the Taoiseach said he had met with the company’s vice president who assured him it remained committed to seeing the project through.

“The Government is very keen for this project to go ahead,” said Mr Varadkar.

“I am reassured by Apple of its commitment to the project but the Government acknowledges that planning issues and delays in the courts undermine the case for future investment and it intends to act on that.”

He said the government is considering a change to the law which will see data centres classed as “strategic infrastructure,” thus speeding up the planning process in the future.