March 10, 2005 – Ireland has abandoned its offer to provide a reported 100 million euros (about $130 million) in funding for Intel’s expansion of its Fab 24-2 facility in Leixlip, outside Dublin, after learning that the European Union likely would delay and eventually turn down such a plan.

Intel announced in May 2004 that it would invest 1.6 billion euros (nearly $2 billion) to build onto its Fab 24 300mm production site (currently the company’s fourth 300mm facility) to enable 65nm process technologies, with anticipated production beginning in 1H06.